Greenwich’s Liana Sarkissian named Gatorade Connecticut Girls Volleyball Player of the Year for 2021

Greenwich senior Liana Sarkissian has been named the 2021-22 Gatorade Connecticut Volleyball Player of the Year.

Sarkissian is the second Gatorade Connecticut Volleyball Player of the Year to be chosen from Greenwich High School. She joins outside hitter Erika Videtto in 2008-2009.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Sarkissian as Connecticut’s best high school volleyball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year award to be announced in January, Sarkissian joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners.

The 6-foot-4 senior middle blocker led the Cardinals to a 26-1 record and the Class LL state championship this past season. Sarkissian recorded 346 kills, 110 digs, 72 blocks and 50 service aces. The GameTimeCT Player of the Year, she was a Second Team Under Armour all-American and was named to the All-FCIAC First Team.

Sarkissian has volunteered locally as a youth volleyball coach and as a teacher’s aide at her church.

“Liana Sarkissian is just an amazing player,” said Pete Georgiou, coach at Brien McMahon High School. “She’s great blocking at the net, but she can also get down on the ground. She plays terrific defense, she’s good on serve and receive and she can pass, too.”

Sarkissian has maintained a weighted 4.50 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball on scholarship at the University of Dayton this fall.

She earned MVP honors in the FCIAC championship match after putting up 16 kills, five blocks and seven digs in a four-set win over Darien.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.

Sarkissian joins recent Gatorade Connecticut Volleyball Players of the Year Emma Appleman (2020-21, Guilford High School), Paula Hernandez (2019-20, Woodstock Academy), Kiara Robichaud (2018-19, Joel Barlow High School), and Alana Hruska (2017-18, RHAM High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.