Graham was selected as Molten / NEC Co-Player of the Week and Deines was tabbed as the Molten / NEC Rookie of the Week after both helped lead the Colonials to a 2-0 league mark this past week.

It is the second player of the week nod this season, the fourth of her career and the seventh career NEC weekly award overall for Graham. It is also the fourth time a Colonial has received player of the week recognition from the NEC this season, as junior Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) also won it twice, and 11th time in the last three seasons overall, the highest total for any school.

Deines' rookie of the week award is the first for the Colonials since sophomore Amanda Craig (Houston, Texas / St. Agnes Academy) was honored after the opening week of the 2009 season. She becomes the fourth active Colonial to have won the award. It is also the ninth rookie of the week honor for RMU in the last three seasons, the second highest total in the league.

Graham capped off her week with an impressive milestone Sunday as her 15 kills helped her become just the seventh Colonial in program history to surpass the 1,000-kill plateau. She hit an even .500 Sunday, her highest percentage in a NEC match this season, and reached double figures in kills for the third consecutive match for the first time this season. Graham collected 42 kills overall in her three matches last week, her highest three-match output since the end of the 2007 season, and has now hit at least .400 in 10 matches this season.

Graham had 10 kills and hit .450 in a sweep of Long Island Saturday and had set her season-high in kills earlier in the week when she posted 17 at Big East foe Pittsburgh. She also tied the RMU single-season block assist record Sunday, which she previously held, with her 84th of the season and ranks second in the NEC in blocks per game (1.14), trailing only Veith in that category.

Deines helped setup a Colonial attack that recorded 163 kills in its three matches combined. She recorded at least 20 assists in every match last week, stretching her streak to four consecutive matches in which she has reached that figure. She was one of the key components in helping RMU reach impressive offensive numbers in each of its matches this past week:  the Colonials put down a season-high 62 kills, the most in their last 57 matches, against Pittsburgh Tuesday, hit .324 as a team against defending NEC champion Long Island Saturday and posted 59 kills in just four games against St. Francis (N.Y.) Sunday.

Deines also tallied 16 digs for the week and has collected three double-doubles this season. She has aided Robert Morris to a fourth-place position in the NEC with 10.57 assists per game, but the Colonials trail second place in the category by just .05 apg.

With their two league victories this past week, Robert Morris improved to 7-2 in the NEC and remained in second place in the conference. The Colonials have also won six consecutive matches at home for the first time since early in the 2008 season.

Graham, Deines and the rest of their Colonial teammates will play their final nonconference match of the season this Tuesday, Oct. 26, against 17-4 Cleveland State. Robert Morris will continue its road trip this weekend as RMU plays three NEC opponents, Central Connecticut State, Bryant and Fairleigh Dickinson, on consecutive days from Saturday, Oct. 30 to Monday, Nov. 1.