New Jersey City University

2009 NECVA ALL-DIVISION TEAMS

JERSEY CITY, NJ…Senior outside hitter KEVIN RODGERS (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) and sophomore libero CHRIS EDRA (Edison, NJ/JP Stevens) have been voted to the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Metro Division Second-Team in voting by the division’s 10 head coaches.

 

Both players were instrumental in NJCU posting a 20-16 overall record in the most difficult division in the five-divisional, 43-team NECVA conference setup. NECVA champion Stevens Institute of Technology, the #2 ranked team in the nation, 2008 conference champion Vassar College, and #10 Ramapo College, were all member of a division that in all sent four teams to the annual NECVA Tournament this year and five to the post-season.

 

The Knights enjoyed their 12^th winning season in the 20-year history of the program and seventh 20-win campaign.

 

Rodgers, a First-Team All-Metro selection in 2008 as a middle hitter, moved back to his natural position as an outside in 2009 and finished the season with 369.5 points, 315 kills, 228 digs, 63 blocks, 17 aces and 17 assists, while posting a .226 attack percentage (315-132-811) in 105 sets over 32 matches. He averaged 3.52 points, 3.00 kills, 2.17 digs and 0.60 blocks per set. He ranked 45^th in the nation in digs, 55^th in kills and 78^th in hitting percentage.

 

Edra, the younger brother of second-year head coach CARLO EDRA, earned Second-Team All-NECVA Metro honors at libero in his first season at the position, after starting at outside hitter as a freshman last year, when he was a one-time Metro Division Rookie of the Week.

 

Statistically, Rodgers, a two-year tri-captain for NJCU, proved to be one of the top players in program history. One of only two players to ever record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs, he ranks second in school history with 1,297 kills and third with 1,014 digs. He also was second in career attacks (3,222) and points (1,537.5), fifth in kills per set (3.18), seventh in block assists (193), eighth in total blocks (257) and matches played (117), 11^th in digs per set (2.49), and 15^th in solo blocks (64).

 

“Kevin deserved it,” Carlo Edra said of his four-year senior. “Last year he earned All-Division playing out of position and this year, going back to his natural position, he played like it was his last year of college volleyball. Kevin was a solid player offensive and defensively and I found it a pleasure to be able to coach a player like that.”

 

NJCU finished with a four-year record of 71-55 (.563) with Rodgers on attack from 2006-09, making the post-season three times. He had at least 260 kills every year and 300 or more in each of his final three seasons. He had 31 career double-doubles, including six in 2009, and eight career 20-kill matches.

 

On February 14 in a 3-2 win over Emmanuel College, Rodgers pounded out 36 kills to set a NJCU record for the most in the rally-scoring era while tying a 13-year old school mark for the most kills in a match of any length. Rodgers’ 36 kills marked his second career 30-kill accomplishment and are the most since rally scoring was implemented in the 2001 season. Meanwhile, the 36 kills tied Satsay Thongvichith—the only men’s volleyball player in the NJCU Athletics Hall of Fame—for the most in the 20-year history of the program. It was also the sixth 30-kill match in school history.

 

Edra finished the year with 324 digs in 108 sets for a 3.00 per set average, which ranked 10^th in the country among Division III players. While he stands only 5-foot-6—the smallest player among the top 28 in the national rankings in the defensive category—his ability to patrol the backline proved crucial for NJCU as he reached double digits in digs in 15 of 32 matches, including eight of the final nine outings. He now has 21 career matches with double digit digs. He was named the Most Valuable Libero on March 15 at the York College Invitational.

 

Edra posted 20 digs in the win over Emmanuel and matched his career best with 20 in only four sets in a 3-2 win over Stevenson University on March 13. A reliable passer, Edra had a .948 pass percentage with only 35 reception errors in 668 total attempts. He was named the Most Valuable Libero on March 15 at the York College Invitational. 

 

He nearly doubled his dig output from his rookie campaign when he defended 187 and averaged 1.93 per set, and with 511 digs in two years is on pace to record 1,000 career digs—something only four players, including Rodgers, have done in NJCU history.

 

Edra also played several games at outside hitter during the year to help the team when it was shorthanded. In all, he finished with 31 kills (31-23-92, .087 and 20 assists.

 

Of his younger brother, Carlo Edra said: “Towards the beginning of the season, he was just doing his job but by mid-season, he embraced his position. With our father passing away [Ceferino Edra died on March 1], Chris played motivated. Statistically, and with the naked eye, you could see the difference in his play.”