Oct. 24, 2011  CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Freshman setter Mary Vaccaro earned her seventh Molten Patriot League Rookie of the Week citation on Monday and set a Patriot League record for the most Rookie of the Week awards in the process. She recorded her 1,000th assist and set a career-high with six service aces during two Army wins over the weekend.

Vaccaro's seven citations bested American's Rebecca Heath, who set the previous record in 2008 with six awards. The Rookie of the Week award was established in 2001.

A former beach volleyball standout on the juniors level, Vaccaro has done nothing but shine in her first season on the banks of the Hudson and continued the trend in a pair of wins last weekend. While averaging 10.88 assists per set, Vaccaro posted back-to-back double-doubles (assists, digs).

Vaccaro recorded her 1,000th assist in Army's 3-1 win over Lehigh on Saturday afternoon. She now ranks 10th on the Black Knights' single-season ledger. In a 3-1 victory over Lafayette the previous night, Vaccaro recorded a career-high six service aces, which is more than any other Army player this season.

The Patriot League's assist leader from the first week of the season until now (11.44 assists per set), she ranked 15th nationally in assists per set as of the last NCAA report.

Army's two wins last weekend moved the Black Knights to 8-1 in Patriot League play and kept pace with defending champion American in a tie for first place in the conference standings. Army (17-6), which extended its win streak to five matches, plays its final non-conference match on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at Manhattan at 7 p.m.

Patriot League play resumes this weekend with a single match against Holy Cross on Sunday, Oct. 31. First serve at Gillis Field House is set for 1 p.m. Fans attending are encouraged to get in the Halloween spirit and dress in costume for the match.

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