General 2/26/2024 2:30:00 PM United East Athletes of the Week - February 26, 2024 LATHAM, N.Y. - The United East conference has announced its Athletes of the Week for February 26, 2024. This includes Athletes of the Week for both the Skye and Volt Divisions in Baseball as well as Men’s Volleyball, Women’s Lacrosse, and Men’s Lacrosse This week’s selections included contests from Monday, February 19 through Sunday, February 25. A total of 10 student-athletes were recognized for their performances. Men’s Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week Jordan Yoder / FY / Lancaster Bible College / WInfield, Pa. / Homeschool The first-year currently leads the conference in kills with 128 and is second in points with 146.5. This week, Yoder helped that total as the Chargers went 1-1 overall including a 3-0 win over Wilkes. Yoder averaged 15.5 kills and 1.5 aces per game including a game high 17 kills in a 3-1 loss at Marymount (Va.). This is the first Player of the Week honor for Yoder. Defensive Player of the Week Jason Raymond / Jr / Pratt Institute / Blacklick, Oh. / Gahanna Lincoln HS Pratt junior middle Jason Raymond helped lead the Cannoneers to a 2-0 week with victories over Old Westbury and Brooklyn. He stuffed seven blocks over the tri-match (four solo) with five coming in the team's four-set win over Brooklyn. Offensively, he also hit .340 in the afternoon with 20 kills. This is the fourth Player of the Week honor for Raymond, who previously won for the weeks of February 12, 2024, February 20, 2023, and March 21, 2022.. Women’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week Hailey Betch / Jr / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Severna Park, Md. / Severna Park HS Hailey Betch opened her junior campaign with 16 points on 10 goals and six assists in a 1-2 start for the Seahawks. Betch started the year with three goals and three assists in a 12-11 road loss to No. 16 Roanoke. She followed that up with five goals and a dime in a 15-13 loss to Washington College. Betch picked up two goals and two assists in one quarter of play in a 24-0 win over Trinity Washington. Betch was previously a First Team All-Conference honoree in 2022 and has now won Player of the Week two separate times (February 20, 2023). Defensive Player of the Week Abi Sipel / Jr / Cedar Crest College / Bethlehem, Pa. / Freedom HS Sipel tallied a hat trick to go along with seven ground balls, seven caused turnovers, and two draw controls in Cedar Crest's 16-13 season-opening win over Centenary. Sipel was the CSAC 2023 Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference. This is the second Player of the Week honor for Sipel, who previously won for the week of April 10, 2023. Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week Tyler McManus / Sr / Keystone College / East Meadow, N.Y. / East Meadow HS McManus scored seven goals on shots, with five goals being scored in the third quarter in Keystone's 23-7 season opening win over SUNY Cobleskill on Saturday. He also had three ground balls in the contest. The victory over SUNY Cobleskill is the first win for the Keystone Men’s Lacrosse program since March 2017. This is the first Player of the Week honor for McManus. Defensive Player of the Week Brandon Dabkowski / Sr / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Cockeysville, Md. / Dulaney HS Brandon Dabkowski scooped up seven ground balls, caused two turnovers, and went 4-of-6 at face-off X as the Seahawks opened the season 1-1. Dabkowski had three ground balls and one caused in the 18-6 home- and season-opening win over Southern Virginia. He then won 4-of-6 face-offs (the first time he's taken face-offs in his career), picked up a career-best four loose balls, and caused one turnover in the tough 13-9 loss to Randolph-Macon. This is the first Player of the Week honor for Dabkowski. Baseball Player of the Week - Skye Division Colin Orndorff / Jr / University of Valley Forge / Lansdale, Pa. / North Penn HS Orndorff had a big opening weekend hitting .455 (5-11) with 4 runs scored, a double, 7 total bases, and went 5-6 on stolen bases as the Patriots opened up 2024 with two wins and two losses in their four games this past week. This is the second Player of the Week nod for Orndorff, who previously won for the week of March 28, 2022. Pitcher of the Week - Skye Division Brandon Dalmado / So / University of Valley Forge / Woodbridge, Va. / Charles J. Colgan Sr. HS Dalmado threw a complete game (7 Innings) shutout against Penn State Scranton on Saturday afternoon as the Patriots picked up a 12-0 win in Game 2 of the doubleheader. Dalmado threw only 94 pitches across 7 Innings, scattered three hits, walked one, and struck out 12 batters. This is the first Pitcher of the Week honor for Dalmado. Player of the Week - Volt Division Brendan Henn / Jr / Penn State Harrisburg / Matamoras, Pa. / Delaware Valley HS Brendan Henn was integral in helping Penn State Harrisburg go 3-1 on opening weekend. The junior hit the game-winning walk-off sacrifice fly that gave the Lions a 5-4 season-opening victory before hitting his first home run of the season against N.C. Wesleyan later on Saturday. In four games, he slashed .357/.545/.714 with a 1.259 OPS with five hits, including a home run and two doubles, seven RBI, four runs scored, six walks, and a pair of stolen bases. Henn was the 2023 United East Championship Tournament MVP as well as Second Team All-Conference and Second Team All-Region last year. This is the first Player of the Week honor for Henn. Pitcher of the Week - Volt Division Nick Russo / So / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Woodstock, Md. / Marriott Ridge HS Nick Russo led the Seahawks to their first win of the season - a 13-6 neutral site win over Bates. Russo pitched 5.0 innings of scoreless relief in his second appearance of the season, striking out four, walking one, and yielding only one hit. On the week, Russo had 5 strikeouts in 5.2 Innings Pitched with only one walk in 22 batters faced. This is the first Pitcher of the Week honor for Russo. 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. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.