PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Villanova senior setter Emma Pettit (Ft. Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge) was named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team in a press release Wednesday afternoon. Pettit was voted to the team by the sports information directors at the Philadelphia area colleges and universities.

Pettit led the Wildcats (25-9, 14-4 BIG EAST) to the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, Villanova's first appearance since 2011. The Wildcats lost in the BIG EAST Championship match but received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournamant the following weekend. Their NCAA Tournament appearance was the school's first appearance since 1997.

Villanova set new marks with the most conference wins in a season and its 25 wins was the most for the program since 1993. Pettit finished her career with the third highest assist total in Villanova history with 3,791 assists.

This is the first year that Pettit has been named to the Academic All-Area team. In order to be eligible for Academic All-Area honors, an athlete must be in at least his or her second year at the institution and hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or better. Pettit, an English major, carried a 3.95 grade-point average to go along with her athletic successes.

Previously, Pettit was named First Team All-BIG EAST and First Team All-East Coast Region, voted by the conference's coaches and the American Volleyball Coaches Association, respectively. She will be in the running for an all-american nod in the upcoming weeks.



Academic All-Area

Performer of the Year - Sarah Wallace (Swarthmore)

Emma Pettit (Villanova) - SR, Ft. Collins, Colo., English
Miranda Biondi (PSU-Brandywine) - SR, Newtown Square, Pa., Human Develop. & Family Studies
Michelle Chai (Philadelphia U.) - JR, Sinking Spring, Pa., Health Sciences
Alyssa Drachslin (Temple) - SR, Riverside, Calif., Political Science
Rikki Schlager (Eastern) - SR, Lititz, Pa., Early Childhood Education
Regina Trabosh (Chestnut Hill) - JR, Norristown, Pa., Psychology/Criminal Justice
Sarah Wallace (Swarthmore) - SO, San Francisco, Calif., Computer Science/Economics