After winning their first-ever series in Horizon League play against IUPUI (0-10, 0-10) on Monday and Tuesday, one of Robert Morris’s (3-11, 3-11) most accomplished members of the program has earned another first of its kind award.
On Thursday afternoon, RMU senior middle blocker Maria Alfano was named Horizon League Player of the Week, becoming the first-ever Colonial to receive this distinction as a member of the new conference.
🔹 3️⃣.4️⃣2️⃣ kills per set
🔹 1️⃣.2️⃣9️⃣ blocks per set
🔹 2️⃣ winsA successful Senior Night series makes @MariaRose1019 the @HorizonLeague Player of the Week! 👏👏#RMUnite | 🔵🏐🔴 | #RMUVB pic.twitter.com/g7gfgsRUWk
— RMU Volleyball (@RMUVolleyball) March 18, 2021
Alfano guided Robert Morris to a 3-1 match victory on Monday in part to a season-high eight blocks, with two being solo, and was second on the team with 11 kills. With her successful defensive performance at the net, Alfano became the ninth player in Colonial history to record 300 blocks in her career, passing Leah Dunivan (2013-16) for eighth all-time.
She followed up her powerful performance with her best offensive night of the year on Tuesday, recording a season-high 13 kills and an impressive .440 hitting percentage in a 3-0 RMU sweep over the Jaguars on senior night.
After missing the first two matches of the season, Alfano has produced a solid season in her final year on campus, compiling 99 kills, a .292 hitting percentage, and 40 total blocks in 41 sets over the course of 12 matches this season.
Career-wise, Alfano has posted 753 kills while sixth all-time with a .304 hitting percentage and 265 block assists, leading to 301 total career blocks an average of 2.28 kills-per-set in her time at Robert Morris.
Alfano and the rest of the Colonials program will take the court one final time this season as RMU hosts Northern Kentucky for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 22, and the second match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m to conclude the Horizon League regular season.
