CASTINE, Maine – Volleyball's Maria Perez (San Juan, Puerto Rico) has been named the 2019-2020 Maine Maritime Academy Female Leader of the Year.
"Anyone who has seen our team play knows Maria and her on-court leadership," said Maine Maritime Academy Head Volleyball Coach Tricia Carver. "She is 100 percent passion & 100 percent relentless."
"She drew out the absolute best in her teammates and coaches both in their physical skills and emotional capacity," added Carver. "She was constantly aware that this was her last chance to upload all of her volleyball IQ into the program, and she was relentless in that effort."
The Mariners Leadership Award, first awarded in 2017-2018, is intended to honor the male and female athlete that most embraced the principles of leadership espoused by inCommand, the Mariners Athletics leadership program.
Perez, a Vessel Operations Technology major, was a defensive powerhouse for the Mariners and became the program's all-time dig leader this season. The senior libero appeared in 27 matches, tallying 3.95 digs per set and recorded double-digit digs in 19 matches. Perez was named the NAC Defensive Player of the Week four times, while averaging 4.38 digs per set in the team's six regular season conference matches. Overall this season Perez totaled 332 digs, 61 assists, 24 aces and three kills.
