Moon Township, Pa. - Senior captain Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) and junior Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) of the Robert Morris University volleyball team both took home hardware for their 2011 seasons as each earned All-Northeast Conference (NEC) awards at the league's annual banquet Friday evening.
Veith claimed her second-consecutive First Team accolade while Monger's first conference honor was of the Second Team variety.
Veith became the seventh Colonial since 2002 to earn back-to-back First Team All-NEC awards and the 15th overall to earn multiple all-conference honors.
Monger is the 24th overall student-athlete from RMU to bring home an All-NEC award after she posted strong seasons on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Veith was the only Colonial to play in every set in 2011 as she set numerous career bests in multiple offensive categories. She led the NEC with her career-high .376 hitting percentage and hit at an amazing .447 mark during league play, which was 40 points clear of the next closest student-athlete. Veith had 20 double-digit kill matches and hit at least .400 in 18 matches, including hitting over .600 in six matches. She earned one of the most noteworthy awards ever by a Colonial when she was named CVU.com National Player of the Week Sept. 27 after hitting .596 in three matches with 22 blocks in 11 sets. Veith ranked second in the league in blocks per set (1.14) and seventh in the conference in kills per set (3.09) while averaging 3.34 in league play.
Veith, who claimed four weekly honors from the NEC in 2011, was named a national semifinalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award this past August. She currently ranks second in single-season hitting percentage at RMU and now has three of the top seven such marks in program history. Veith has drilled a career-best 362 kills, a mark which is just outside the top 10 in program history, and 133 blocks, becoming the first Colonial ever to register more than one 130-block season.
Veith is set to leave Robert Morris as one of the top performers in school history. She ranks second all-time with her .354 hitting percentage (min. 1700 attacks) and third in career blocks with 421. Veith is also eighth in career kills with 1,041, making her only the third player with at least 1,000 kills and 400 blocks, and is currently tied for 10th in career sets played with 425.
Monger earned all-league recognition for her ability to aid the team in more than one aspect of the game. She has the unique distinction of being the only player to rank among the top 10 in the NEC in both kills per set and digs per set. Monger was fifth with 3.53 kills per set after leading the Colonials with a career-best 385 kills. She also posted 3.68 digs per set in league play to finish sixth, finishing ahead of the liberos of multiple teams. She claimed a NEC Player of the Week honor in early October and was subsequently named as one of 11 Top Weekly Performers by CVU after nailing 44 kills in just seven sets. She tallied 17 double-doubles, tied for the most by a Colonial since 2003, and notched 21 double-digit kill matches and 23 double-figure dig outings.
Monger is presently in eighth place in single-season RMU history in kills and has the potential to become just the fifth Colonial ever to notch 400 kills in a single season. She finished the regular season with 372 digs while adding 42 blocks and receiving 640 serves.
Monger is well on her way to becoming just the second Colonial in program history to register 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career as she enters the 2011 postseason with 799 kills and 870 digs.
Veith and Monger will look to lead the Colonials as they commence their postseason this weekend. RMU qualified for the NEC Tournament for the 13th-consecutive season and is set to take on top-seed Long Island Saturday at 3 p.m. in the league semifinals.
