University of Pittsburgh at Bradford freshman middle hitter, Kirsten Platz, has been named the AMCC Newcomer of the Year. 

"It's a really nice honor for her, and one she definitely deserved. She really stepped up and played a huge role for us this season," said Pitt-Bradford volleyball coach Tom Roof. "She got better and better as the season went on with both her hitting and her blocking." 

Platz finished her rookie season first on the team, and fifth in the AMCC, with 231 kills. She also led the Panthers with a .287 hitting percentage, which was good enough for third in the conference, and finished fourth in the AMCC in blocks per set. Her 81 total blocks and 31 solo blocks were both team highs. Platz was named to the all-tournament team at the Wooster Tournament. 

"It's really nice to see the other coaches in the conference recognize her talent and were able to see what we knew she was capable of doing coming in," Roof said. "She was a dominant player for us in a lot of big games – especially our victory at Franciscan, which was a huge game for us at the time."