COLCHESTER, Vt. - Saint Michael's College women's volleyball junior middle blocker Grace Almeida (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and first-year middle blocker Rory Tower (Fountain Hills, Ariz./Desert Mountain) both earned Northeast 10 Conference All-Conference laurels on Wednesday, as chosen by the league's head coaches.
 
Almeida was among nine all-conference second team picks from around the league, while Tower was one of eight student-athletes chosen for the third team. In all, 24 players landed all-conference honors. Tower also earned a spot on the seven-woman All-Rookie Team, becoming the sixth Purple Knight in four years so recognized. She is the initial Saint Michael's first-year to earn all-conference since Sheri Sawyer '94 in 1990, while the Purple and Gold had two all-league picks for the first time since 2015, when Candace Washington '16 and Natalie Moore '17 were selected. Washington had also been the most recent Purple Knight middle to claim the accolade.
 
Almeida, who landed NE10 All-Rookie Team accolades in 2023, is third in the NE10 in hitting percentage (.340) and tied for third in blocks per set (0.97), standing fourth in total blocks (87). The second-year captain turned in the fifth-best hitting percentage in program history, just behind the fourth-place .346 clip she posted as a sophomore. Almeida's 87 blocks this year tie her for sixth in program history with Stephanie Bambury '08 (2006), and she tied Beth Doré '88 (1987) for second in block assists (70). Almeida enters her senior year sixth at Saint Michael's in career total blocks (182) and third in block assists (147). She had eight five-block performances, including recording six rejections with 16 kills on .542 hitting in a 3-2 win at Pace University on Oct. 18. Almeida added 132 kills, 68 digs and 35 service aces to a well-rounded stat line.
 
Tower is second in the NE10 in blocks per set (1.1), tied for second in total blocks (96), and eighth in hitting percentage (.294). Her 96 blocks this fall tied Katie Ouellette '06 (2002) for third in program history and matched Ouellette's rookie record. They were the most blocks by a Purple Knight since Candace Washington '16 had 114 in 2015. Tower's 70 block assists are good for fourth all-time. She posted at least 10 kills five times while adding 10 five-block outings, with her 13 blocks against Saint Anselm College on Oct. 21 the most in the known history of the program, over the last 20 years. The 20 blocks Saint Michael's had that night were the most by any NE10 team since complete records became available in 2014. Tower added 138 kills, 65 digs and 22 aces this year.
 
Almeida and Tower contributed to the Purple Knights' highest block total (186) and service ace count (193) since 2011. Under third-year head coach Lauren Brough, the duo helped the Purple Knights qualify for the NE10 Championship for the third straight year, finishing 7-18 overall and 4-5 in league play. Saint Michael's had its highest NE10 finish in 31 years and its best conference winning percentage since that 1994 season.