Moon Township, Pa. - Junior middle blocker Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) of the Robert Morris University volleyball team was named as one of the top weekly performers in the nation by Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU) in an organizational release Tuesday.
Veith was one of just 11 players, and one of only two middle blockers, that was named to the organization's weekly honor roll of top national performers. This announcement comes just a day after Veith had earned Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week, becoming the first Colonial to do so since Rachel Leitch captured back-to-back awards in the final two weeks of the 2004 season.
Veith also becomes the first NEC player to be named to CVU's national weekly list this season.
Veith's dominating play helped RMU to another 2-0 week as the Colonials have now won four consecutive matches. She was even more efficient than in the previous week when she hit at a .452 clip. Veith put down 11 kills, tying her then season high, on just 16 attempts without making a single error to hit a remarkable .688 Saturday in a sweep of Bryant. She also collected four blocks against the Bulldogs as RMU outblocked Bryant 13-2 overall.
Veith may have saved an even better performance for Sunday as she registered a match-high 19 kills, setting a new career high and team season high in the process. It took only 29 attempts for Veith to set her new career standard as she hit .552 in the match, a 3-1 victory over Central Connecticut State. She also contributed four more blocks against the Blue Devils.
Veith hit at an even .600 mark for the week and has hit at least .420 in each match during RMU's winning streak. She currently has a stretch of eight consecutive matches in which she has hit at least .350 and has also reached double-digit kills in three consecutive matches for the first time in her career.
Veith currently ranks second in the NEC in hitting at .329, trailing only teammate Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie) who has posted a .337 mark to this point. Veith does have the edge over Graham in the blocking department as she leads the NEC with 1.17 blocks per game while Graham is second with 1.09.
Veith has especially raised her game in league play as she leads the NEC in both hitting and blocking in conference matches. She has hit an outstanding .539 in NEC matches, outdistancing the rest of the league by .175. Veith sits atop in blocking with 1.54 blocks per game although Graham is a close second at 1.46.
Graham and Veith have helped the Colonials to notable numbers in the team blocking category as well. Robert Morris leads the NEC with 2.56 blocks per game while Long Island sits a distant second with 1.79. That gap between the Colonials and Long Island is greater than the distance between second place and last place in the league blocking category.
Robert Morris is 4-0 in the NEC and is tied for first in the league standings.
Robert Morris has the week off before heading back on the road for another pair of conference contests this weekend. The Colonials will travel to Connecticut, taking on Quinnipiac Saturday, Oct. 9, before facing co-NEC leader Sacred Heart, Sunday, Oct. 10.
