General 2/19/2024 2:30:00 PM United East Athletes of the Week - February 19, 2024 LATHAM, N.Y. - The United East conference has announced its Athletes of the Week for February 19, 2024. This includes Athletes of the Week for both the Skye and Volt Divisions in Men’s and Women’s Basketball as well as Men’s Volleyball. This week’s selections included contests from Monday, February 12 through Wednesday, February 14. A total of 10 student-athletes were recognized for their performances. Men’s Basketball Offensive Player of the Week - Skye Division Darryl Garib / Sr / Wilson College / Dallas, Tx. / Forest Park HS Garib had led all players with 24 points in a regular season finale win against Notre Dame on Tuesday. None were more important than the final three which came on a buzzer-beater following a full court pass from Bryce Smith with 1.0 left on the clock to give the Phoenix a one-point win. The win secured the top seed in the conference tournament for the second time in three years. It was his only 3-pointer on a night where he went 9-of-15 from the field. He pulled down four rebounds, three of which were on the offensive end and all directly led to baskets by him. Garib finished the regular season averaging 21.5 points per game; good for 2nd in the United East. Garib was a 2022-23 First Team All-Conference honoree as well as Player of the Week seven other times in his career; February 12, 2024, November 13, 2023, January 30, 2023, January 23, 2023, December 12, 2022, February 7, 2022, and January 24, 2022 Defensive Player of the Week - Skye Division Nate Thompson / So / Saint Elizabeth University / Union, N.J. / Union HS Thompson narrowly missed recording a double-double during the regular season finale against Rosemont, finishing with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals. This is the first Player of the Week honor for Thompson Offensive Player of the Week - Volt Division Gavin Barrett / Jr / Penn College / Roselle, N.J. / Union HS Barrett recorded a triple-double for Penn College last week in the regular season finale victory over Gallaudet. He scored 15 points, dished out 16 assists, and grabbed 10 rebounds in an 80-61 win. This is the third Player of the Week award in his career for the 2022-23 First Team All-Conference honoree. Barrett finished the regular season leading the league in Assists with 192 and a 7.7 Assists per Game average while sitting 11th in Scoring with 17.0 points per game. Defensive Player of the Week - Volt Division Kyree Smith / FY / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Baltimore, Md. / City College High School Smith grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds, including seven defensive ones. He also added 7 points, 4 assists, and 1 block in the season-finale against Penn State Abington as St. Mary’s locked in the #3 seed for the United East Championships. This is the first Player of the Week honor for Smith. Women’s Basketball Offensive Player of the Week - Skye Division Serene Calderon / Jr / Clarks Summit University / Corfu, N.Y. / Pembroke Jr./Sr. High School Calderon averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds this week as the Defenders went 1-1 to finish the season including a triple-double against Rosemont on Monday, February 12. Against the Ravens, Calderon put up 33 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in a winning effort. Finishing the season, Calderon had 9 points, 8 assists, and 11 rebounds in a loss against Cedar Crest. This is the second Player of the Week nod for Calderon who previously won for the week of November 28, 2022. Calderon was an Honorable Mention honoree in the 2022-23 season. Defensive Player of the Week - Skye Division Taylor Hinson / Jr / Cairn University / Carney’s Point, N.J. / Collingswood HS Hinson put on a defensive clinic this week, grabbing 11 defensive boards on Monday night against Saint Elizabeth and on Wednesday, blocking a season-high 4 shots and taking away 3 steals in addition to 25 points on the offensive side. The Highlanders locked in the #5 seed for the United East playoffs. Hinson was a second team all-conference performer in 2022-23 and currently sits sixth in the United East averaging 17.9 points per game and seventh with 9.2 rebounds per game. This is the sixth Player of the Week honor for Hinson who previously won for the weeks of February 12, 2024, January 30, 2023, January 16, 2023, December 12, 2022, and November 15, 2021 Offensive Player of the Week - Volt Division Angela Sanders / Sr / Penn State Abington / Philadelphia, Pa. / Mastery Charter North Pickett Sanders recorded her 12th double-double of the season in the team's regular season finale victory over St. Mary's College (Md.) that clinched the third seed in the United East Volt Division. Sanders scored 27 points to go along with 15 rebounds. Sanders is currently 4th in the United East averaging 18.8 points per game and 4th in rebounding with a 10.4 per game average. This is the 5th Player of the Week honor for Sanders, who previously won for the weeks of January 29, 2024, December 11, 2023, February 13, 2023, and January 11, 2022. Defensive Player of the Week - Volt Division Cassidy Perry / Sr / Gallaudet University / Frederick, Md. / Maryland School for the Deaf Perry wrapped up the regular-season with a win on Senior Night against Penn College as she tallied 14 points, 11 rebounds (six defensive), passed out seven assists, made four steals and two blocks and no fouls in 32 minutes played. Perry made 7 of 8 shots from the field as GU rolled to a 65-47 win. Perry recorded her 14th double-double and surpassed 1,700 career points and 1,050 career rebounds in the process. This is the 18th Player of the Week honor on the basketball court for Perry who was a First Team All-Conference honoree in 2021-22 and 2022-23, in addition to Rookie of the Year and Second Team honors in 2019-20. Men’s Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week Kodi Peters / Gr / Saint Elizabeth University / Bergenfield, N.J. / Bergenfield High School Kodi Peters helped guide the Eagles to 1-1 during the week of Feb. 12 - Feb. 17. with 24.5 points (18 kills, 6 aces, and a block assists. In the match against Arcadia, the Graduate Student chipped in 4 kills 2 errors with 15 attempts for .133 and 3 digs. During the match versus City College of New York, Kodi Peters exploded with 14 kills and 4 errors in 29 attempts for an incredible .345 hitting efficiency. In addition, Peters led all servers with a career high of 6 aces and a block assist. The outside was one dig shy, 9 total, of a double double. Peters was a First Team honoree in 2023 and this is third Player of the Week in his career (February 17, 2020 & April 19, 2021). Defensive Player of the Week Jerry Chablay / So / Saint Elizabeth University / Hackensack, N.J. / Hackensack HS / Kansas Wesleyan Chablay racked up 25 total digs in the week ending Feb. 18th. The sophomore libero had 8 digs against Arcadia and a team high of 17 digs versus City College of NY and Saint Elizabeth University finished the week 1-1. This is the first Player of the Week honor for Chablay. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram - gounitedeast | Twitter - @GoUnitedEast * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The United East boasts 17 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Clarks Summit University, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg, Rosemont College, Saint Elizabeth University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. 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