Moon Township, Pa. – Emma Granger, a junior middle blocker on the Robert Morris University volleyball team, has been recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) as All-Northeast Region Honorable Mention, as announced by the organization Tuesday.
Granger is the first player in program history to earn an All-Region honor and moves onto the ballot for All-America consideration. The junior joins student-athletes from Colgate, Columbia, Illinois, Northern Kentucky, Ohio, Penn State, Princeton, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Wright State that were recognized on an AVCA All-Northeast Region team.
LINK: AVCA Division I Regional Awards
The unanimous choice for Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Year, Granger put together a junior season that is one of the best in Robert Morris history. The Dalton, Ohio native broke the single-season record in total blocks (160), finished second in hitting percentage (.381), service aces (60), and block assists (142), and ninth in kills (389). She reached double-digit kills and hit over .300 on 21 occasions, tallied 20 or more kills five times, recorded multiple service aces in 19 matches, and registered five or more blocks in 17 contests.
In the national rankings, Granger slots sixth in blocks per set (1.50), ninth in aces per set (0.56), 24th in points per set (5.03), 33rd in hitting percentage (.381), and 95th in kills per set (3.64). The junior already owns the program's career service aces standard, and will enter her senior campaign 72 block assists and 90 total blocks out of top billing in those respective categories. She also ranks third all-time in hitting percentage (.340) and is 41 kills away from breaking into that top 10.
Granger posted five of the top 10 highest point totals in single-match history over the year, holding the first, second, third, fifth, and 10th spots on the list. On Nov. 8 against Central Connecticut, she shattered the previous standard of 29.0 points (Rachel Leitch, Nov. 9, 2003 vs. Duquesne) with a 33.0-point performance, recording a record-tying 26 kills, eight block assists, and three service aces. The middle blocker finished the season with 30.5 points (25 kills, five block assists, three service aces) at Long Island and 30.0 points (23 kills, eight block assists, three service aces) in the NEC Tournament versus the Blue Devils.
The Dalton High School alumna won a conference-record seven Molten/NEC Player of the Week awards, capturing the honors on Sept. 9, Sept. 16, Oct. 14, Oct. 21, Nov. 4, Nov. 11, and Nov. 18. She also was bestowed with Molten/NEC Defensive Player of the Week accolades on Sept. 16, Oct. 7, and Nov. 4, and has a total of 16 weekly league awards in her career – seven more than anyone else ever at RMU.
Granger is the fourth player in program history to make three All-NEC First Teams, joining Katie Noble (1999, 2000, 2001), Megan Bell (2003, 2004, 2005), and Amanda Graham (2007, 2009, 2010).
This is the second straight day that the Colonials have received regional or national recognition, as junior setter Whitney Brown was named to the Academic All-America Second Team by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) yesterday afternoon.
Robert Morris finished the 2019 season with its third most victories (25) and a program-record 15 NEC wins. The Colonials captured their seventh regular-season conference title and first in 11 years, and are slated to return their entire team in 2020 – highlighted by the All-NEC trio of Maria Alfano, Brown, and Granger.
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