BRIDGEWATER, N.J.- Fresh off achieving the program's first-ever NEC regular season title, three Knights and their head coach have been recognized by the conference for their historic season.

Major awards and the All-NEC teams were announced by the conference on Thursday. The results shook out with David Nguyen as NEC Coach of the Year, Tatijana Fucka as NEC Player of the Year, and Rebeka Fucka and Giorgia Vaschetti as second team All-NEC.

This is the second time in as many years that head coach David Nguyen was named NEC Coach of the Year. In addition to capturing the regular season championship, Nguyen led the Knights to a program record of 11 NEC wins, which included a memorable streak of nine-straight conference victories. This streak spanned over a month of play. The VCU graduate has compiled quite the resume in his first two years in charge of a program, which now includes two Coach of the Year awards, a NEC regular season championship, a NEC tournament title, and a NCAA tournament appearance. Nguyen will look to cap off a remarkable second-year on the Hackensack with another title at this week's NEC tournament.

Graduate student Tatijana Fucka is the second Knight in program history to be named the NEC Player of the Year. She also was named to the All-NEC first team for the second-straight season. T. Fucka finds herself back in the limelight after leading the conference in hitting percentage, striking the ball at an incredible .357 clip. The Italian middle blocker was not only efficient, but explosive. She led the Knights with 2.50 kills per set and her offensive ability was perfectly showcased in an 18-kill outburst against LIU. In conference play, T. Fucka ranked in the top ten for kills per set. The former UAB Blazer was also a difference-maker on the defensive side of the ball. She stifled opposing attackers all year long with 89 blocks.  Her .88 blocks per set average was good enough for second on the team and sixth in the NEC. T. Fucka's dominant performances were recognized throughout the year as she picked up two Molten/NEC Player of the Week awards.

Rebeka Fucka made quite the first-impression in her first season as a Knight and landed on the All-NEC second team. R. Fucka was a key piece of shutting down FDU's opponents from her first match in an FDU uniform. The Italian graduate student compiled 98 total blocks on the year. Her .91 blocks per set led the team and ranked fourth in the conference. The middle blocker had a show-stopping nine rejection performance in a four-set victory against Sacred Heart. This match helped her pick up a Molten/NEC Defensive Player of the Week award. On the offensive end, R. Fucka was quite efficient. She averaged 1.89 kills per set at a .302 clip. This hitting percentage was good enough for third in the conference.

Perhaps the Knights' "X-factor" was outside hitter Giorgia Vaschetti, who was also named to the All-NEC second team. FDU was 5-0 in NEC play when the Italian sophomore totaled ten or more kills. Vaschetti was reliable more often than not as she set career-highs in total kills (212), kills per set (2.19) and blocks (45.0). On her way to becoming of the most formidable attackers in the conference, Vaschetti reached double-figures seven times, including a career-high 14 kill night in a victory against LIU. Vaschetti finished the year second on the team in kills per set and third on the team in blocks per set.

You can catch these all-conference honorees and the rest of FDU in action this weekend as they seek to hoist their second-straight conference tournament trophy at the NEC Championships. The action from Fairfield, Connecticut kicks off with a semifinal match against Saint Francis (PA) on Friday at 2 p.m. The matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and NEC Front Row.