ALFRED, NY -- After one week of play in the 2019-20 academic year, Alfred University volleyball's Amber Smith (Penfield, NY/Webster Schroeder) has been selected the first Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Player of the Week on Tuesday afternoon.

Smith was the Alfred University representative on the 2019 St. Vincent College Bearcat Challenge All-Tournament Team. She helped the Saxons go 2-2 by winning eight sets. She recorded double-doubles in all four matches in kills and digs. She opened up the season by setting her season-high in points and kills as she had 28.5 points and 24 kills as she added three service aces, one solo block and one block assist. She had 10 digs in that match for the double-double against Allegheny. Smith had two more matches with 20 or more points as she had 20.5 to go with the Allegheny win against St. Vincent. In that match, she had 18 kills and 16 digs for the double-double as well as one ace, one solo block, one block assist and two set assists.

On Saturday afternoon, Smith had another 22.0 points from 18 kills, three aces and one block solo in a win against Waynesburg while having a season-high 18 digs. In the morning match, she had 16.0 points off of 16 kills while having 18 digs. She totaled 76 kills, seven aces, three solo blocks and two block assists for a total of 87.0 points while digging attacks 62 times. She had a hitting average of .291 with a weekend-high of .350 against Waynesburg. Smith averaged 4.2 kills per set in the 18 that were played this weekend between the for matches, making it an average of 19 kills per match and 21.75 points per match.

The Saxons will next travel to SUNY New Paltz for a two-day invitational on Friday, September 6. They will first face SUNY Oneonta at 4 p.m. before they take on Mount Saint Mary College (NY) at 6 p.m. On Saturday, they will face the hosts at 11 a.m. and then at 3 p.m., will close out with Hamilton College.