Daily Hampshire Gazette Girls Volleyball All-Stars

First team

Emily Boysen, senior, Easthampton

Alissa Burian, senior, Belchertown

Athena Donta, junior, Amherst Regional

Jamie Hoyle, senior, Amherst Regional

Sarah Krasnik, senior, Amherst Regional

Courtney Parent, senior, Frontier Regional

Cassidy Stankowski, junior, Frontier Regional

Julia Wan, junior, Frontier Regional

Elizabeth Whitney, junior, Easthampton

Marie Wheeler, senior, Frontier Regional

Cassidy Stankowski of Frontier named Gazette Volleyball Player of the Year

Cassidy Stankowski's high school career places her among the most successful, most dominating athletes in Western Massachusetts sports history. And she's only just finished her junior year. The Frontier Regional superstar has accomplished so much and reached such a level of excellence that the adjectives commonly used to explain local standouts simply don't do her justice. She was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Massachusetts, the Daily Hampshire Gazette's Player of the Year and verbally committed to play on scholarship at Division I Central Connecticut State in the fall of 2012.

Cassidy Stankowski of Frontier named state Gatorade Volleyball Player of Year

The text messages started pouring into Frontier Regional junior Cassidy Stankowski’s phone soon after 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning. They came from family, former teammates and friends all congratulating her for the latest - and biggest - honor she's received in her illustrious volleyball career, being named the Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year. "It means so much because in the past years I have been beaten out by other girls," said Stankowski, who has been nominated three times and was the runner-up as a sophomore. "This year they chose me. It's a great feeling."

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Cassidy Stankowski of Frontier named state Gatorade Volleyball Player of Year

The text messages started pouring into Frontier Regional junior Cassidy Stankowski's phone soon after 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning. They came from family, former teammates and friends all congratulating her for the latest - and biggest - honor she's received in her illustrious volleyball career, being named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Massachusetts. "It means so much because in the past years I have been beaten out by other girls," said Stankowski, who has been nominated three times and was the runner-up as a sophomore. "This year they chose me. It's a great feeling."