Emory's Jessica McAlvany Named UAA Volleyball Player of the Week

 Emory sophomore Jessica McAlvany has been named the University Athletic Association Volleyball Player of the Week following her performance over the course of five matches.

The 6-foot-1 McAlvany helped the No. 3-ranked Eagles to a 5-0 mark with her offensive and defensive play. She led all players with 12 kills and a   64.7 hitting percentage (12-1-17) in a 3-0 victory over Division II member Alabama-Huntsville on Tuesday, Sept. 22.  Jessica then earned MVP honors at the Emory Tournament over the weekend after sparking the squad to four wins and the team championship. She played in 11 of 13 sets in the four matches and averaged a team-high 2.91 kills,  recorded an impressive 37.9 hitting percentage (32-7-66) , averaged 2.82 digs per game, including a pair of matches with double figures in that department, doled out six service aces and averaged 0.64 blocks per set.  In a 3-0 decision against Shorter College, she totaled a match-high 12 kills and her 70.6 attack percentage (12-0-17) is the high-water mark by an Emory player in that category so far this year.  All totaled, she played in 14 of 16 sets last week and averaged a team-high 3.14 kills per set while registering a 43.4 hitting percentage (44-8-83). 

After 17 matches, she is the team leader in kills (3.20 kps) and is hitting an impressive 39.3 percent (163-40-313). She has 10 contests of double-figure kills and has posted nine outings with a 30.0 percent or higher attack percentage.

Emory returns to action on Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 3-4) when it ventures to Rochester, NY, to compete in the UAA Round Robin I.