LATHAM, N.Y. -  The United East conference has announced its 2026 Men’s Volleyball All-Conference Teams and major award winners. The All-Conference Teams are three teams made up of five attackers, one setter, one libero and one at-large selection. Four major awards have also been handed out including Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year.

Major Award Winners

Offensive Player of the Year - Sam Poirier (Cairn University) 

Defensive Player of the Year - Camden Sterner (Wilson College)

Rookie of the Year - Braden Escover (Lancaster Bible College)

Coach of the Year - Jade Brubaker (Lancaster Bible College)

Poirier had another outstanding season as he earned Offensive Player of the Year accolades for the second time in as many years. The outside was outstanding, averaging 3.34 kills per set which ranks 43rd in the country. The top target for his Highlander setters, Poirier posted a kill percentage of .257 while piling up a conference-leading 361 kills. He also contributed from the service line as his 38 aces was ranked fifth in the United East. The Nogyang, South Korean native hit the double-digit kill mark 17 times this year, four of which going for 20+. Perhaps his top outing came in a five-set match against Gallaudet in which he posted a season-best 27 kills while hitting at a clip of .600.

Sterner was a monster in the back row, anchoring a defense that averaged 10.78 digs per set which ranked 38th in Division III. Just by himself, Sterner averaged 2.86 digs per set which ranked him 17th in the nation. The Spring Grove, Pa. native led the conference with 81 digs in conference play, accumulating 204 digs in total. Ten times Sterner hit the double-digit dig mark, none more than his 18-dig performance in a match against Randolph College. This year, Sterner was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Week twice.

Escover not only earned a spot in the starting rotation but was a majority contributor to the Charger success this season. The first year averaged 2.76 kills per set which led his squad and ranked fifth in the conference. His 251 total kills ranked third in the United East while his hitting percentage of .239 ranked 10th. The Queens, NY native reached the double-digit kill mark 11 times in 2026 including an 18-kill outing in a winner over Wilkes University. 

For the second-straight season, Coach Jade Brubaker picks up Coach of the Year honors, posting another year of undefeated action in conference play. The bench captain only allowed his opponents to win one set over the eight conference matches played. H8s squad averaged 12.22 kills per set which ranks 20th in the nation while his opponents hitting percentage of .166 ranks 14th in the country. Brubaker also led his squad to a big sweep of Randolph-Macon who was receiving votes in the national poll at the time. 

Check out all three All-Conference teams below:
 

1st Team All-Conference

Player	Institution	Position
Sam Poirier	Cairn University	Attacker
Zachary Bippus	Gallaudet University	Attacker
Trey Edmonds	Neumann University	Attacker
Kevin Bryant	Lancaster Bible College	Attacker
Carson Hoover	Lancaster Bible College	Attacker
Timothy Fletcher	Lancaster Bible College	Setter
Camden Sterner	Wilson College	Libero
Jackson Wolfe	Wilson College	At-Large (Attacker)
Braden Escover	Lancaster Bible College	At-Large (Attacker)

 

Player	Institution	Position
Nehemiah Clark	Cairn Unviersity	Attacker
Jacob McCoy	Wilson College	Attacker
Ryan Koontz	Wilson College	Attacker
Kennedy Ibezim	Saint Elizabeth University	Attacker
Max Wang	Pratt Insitute	Attacker
Zeke Clark	Lancaster Bible College	Attacker
Josh Adler	Cairn Univeristy	Setter
Elian Zfati	Gallaudet Univeristy	Libero
Troy Holcomb	Gallaudet University	At-Large (Setter)

 

Player	Institution	Position
Isaiah Reece	University of Valley Forge	Attacker
Tyler Wascher	Gallaudet University	Attacker
Josh McGurl	Immaculata University	Attacker
Demetrious Simmons	Wilson College	Attacker
Noah Zunski	Immaculata University	Attacker
Satvik Sharma	Wilson College	Setter
J.P. Farrelly	Immaculata University	Libero
Adan Rodriguez-Sapien	Wilson College	At-Large (Libero)

 

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The United East boasts 14 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Brandywine, Penn State Harrisburg, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.