One of the nation’s most prolific liberos, Valpo volleyball freshman Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) picked up a pair of honors Saturday as the Missouri Valley Conference unveiled its postseason awards. Hickey earned a spot both on the All-MVC Second Team and the MVC All-Freshman Team.

Hickey concluded the regular season atop the Valley in digs both overall (5.73/set) and in MVC-only play (6.00/set). In the regular season finale against UIC, Hickey surpassed Rylee Cookerly for both Valpo and MVC freshman records for digs in a season, as she enters the MVC Championship with 687 digs this year - a mark which ranks fifth in Valpo history overall and 10th in MVC history overall.

The rookie posted consistent dig totals throughout Valley play, tallying at least 14 in every match and hitting the 20-dig mark in 15 of 18 matches - highlighted by a 42-dig performance against Bradley, one off Valpo's single-match record and the highest dig total by a Valley player in the last two seasons.

Hickey's gaudy digs average of 5.73 digs/set is good for fourth nationally, while her 687 total digs are third-most in the nation. No other Division I freshman is within 200 digs of Hickey's total this season, while only one other freshman ranks among the nation's top-60 in digs/set this year. With at least one match remaining, Hickey already ranks sixth among D-I freshmen in total digs during their rookie year over the last 12 seasons, just 10 away from third.