Volleyball | 10/2/2017 2:55:00 PM
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris volleyball team is riding a Northeast Conference-best four-match winning streak, and the conference continues to take notice of the young talent and veteran leadership on this year's squad.
Freshman middle blocker
Emma Granger, for the third time in four weeks, has been named the Molten/NEC Rookie of the Week, supplanting teammate and Week Five honoree
Alyson Londot. Senior setter
Brianna Frakes, for her own heroics in consecutive straight-set victories over visiting Sacred Heart (27-25, 26-24, 25-15) and Fairleigh Dickinson (26-24, 25-16, 25-23) Friday and Saturday, has been named an NEC Prime Performer.
Frakes, the only Robert Morris player on the roster the last time the Colonials (9-9, 3-0) beat both schools consecutively, collected 34 assists and 12 digs versus FDU for her fifth double-double of the season. One of six different RMU players to register an ace against the Knights, she served hers on a set point that put her team up 2-0.
The 5'10" Clarkston, Mich. native barely missed another double-double the night before, racking up 29 helpers and nine digs in the resounding win over SHU. Her 8.08 assists per set rank third in the NEC, and, after appearing in 63 of 67 total sets for Robert Morris, Frakes is only the second player in the conference to top the 500 mark with 509.
Granger finished with 14 kills and five service aces in Saturday's sweep, helping the Colonials win their seventh straight meeting with FDU. The 6'4" Dalton High School (Dalton, Ohio) standout continues to lead the NEC in aces with 34, which puts her tied for ninth in Division I. It was her fourth time this season collecting five aces in a single match, delivering her last one on match point for Robert Morris.
Against SHU, she led RMU with a .455 attacking percentage and six blocks as the Colonials won their first-ever match in the North Athletic Complex, their new on-campus home court until the January 2019 opening of the UPMC Events Center. A raucous crowd, bolstered by other first-year students, saw their first home win over the defending regular-season conference champion Pioneers since another 3-0 decision Sept. 28, 2014 at the soon-to-be-razed Sewall Center.
Over both matches, Granger hit at a .357 clip and amassed 21 kills. She currently leads Robert Morris and ranks second in the NEC with a .363 hitting percentage on the campaign, and she also leads her team with 195 kills, sitting at No. 7 in the conference in kills per set (3.05), having played in 64 sets for the Colonials in 2017. RMU is hitting .196 through September, which is tops in the NEC.
Granger looks to become the fifth player in the conference to reach the 200-kill plateau this season when Robert Morris, winner of nine sets in a row overall, visits NEC Tournament champion LIU Brooklyn (9-7, 2-1) for a 6:00 p.m. first serve this Friday.
The Colonials continue their four-match road tilt on Saturday at St. Francis Brooklyn (6-12, 0-3), with first serve at the Genovesi Center scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
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