Noah Fries | staff writer

From the age of seven, she could be found in a gym playing volleyball several nights a week.

Constantly developing. Constantly putting in effort. Constantly grinding.

Now at the age of 19, nothing has changed for Emersen Schrom — known as “Emmy” by her friends, teammates and coaches. She plays Division I volleyball at Duquesne University, less than a half-hour drive away from where she played high-school ball at Hampton Township School District in Allison Park.

“She’s just one of those kids that’s a volley-nerd, a volley-dork, a volley-junkie,” Duquesne volleyball Head Coach Steve Opperman said. “Just eats, drinks and sleeps volleyball.”

In just her second season, the homegrown kid delivered the greatest single-season effort for kills in program history, tallying 532 kills to break Amanda Haeg’s record of 470 set in 2006.

Starting in second grade, Schrom’s parents Jennifer and Andrew would drive her to Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, for a youth league two nights a week. Two years later, her parents would start a youth league of their own much closer to home and eventually create a club team as well, where Emmy would play and develop her love for the game for three years.

“There were times when I was in seventh or eighth grade that I was in the gym four or five nights a week,” Schrom said. “I was constantly practicing with the boys, practicing with the girls, and just being completely engrossed in it.”

After COVID-19 hit and shut down her parents’ club, Emmy moved to Revolution Volleyball Club, which is mainly out of Chambersburg, but had a Pittsburgh branch at the time, where she saw the biggest jump in her skills.

“Club volleyball is a much different atmosphere than high school,” Schrom said. “I always saw my biggest skill gains in club, and you also really learned a lot about yourself and how much you can handle when you’re playing three or more days of volleyball in a row.”

Her high volleyball IQ, dedication to the sport and a willingness to learn made Schrom a perfect fit for Opperman when recruiting her to Duquesne.

“She’s definitely a gym rat,” Opperman said. “She’s a kid that plays the sport because she loves it — not because it’s paying for school or anything like that. You could really see that when she played.”

Assistant coach Alyson Londot echoed these sentiments despite not being on the staff when Emmy was being recruited.

“From her first day as a freshman, I knew she was a competitor,” Londot said. “She had that ‘get after it’ attitude and nothing fazed her. That was my first impression of her, and I instantly knew that this girl was gonna be good.”

As a freshman, Schrom was thrown into a major role right away by starting as a right-side hitter but only playing half of the rotations. Despite only being on the court for three rows, Emmy made her impact felt any time she touched the floor. She tallied 295 kills on the year, good for second on the team. She also was second on the team in service aces with 36.

“Emmy had a nice freshman year where she was on the A10 All-Rookie team,” Opperman said, “did some nice things, and played her on the right side. I was like, ‘what can we do next year to elevate her game but also to elevate us as a team?’ We decided that maybe we needed to look at her swinging on the left [pin], and we just went and ran with it.”

She credits the coaching staff with helping her develop into the player that she is today.

“They’ve just been so supportive,” Schrom explained. “I’m a young player and they’ve always given me 100% trust and allowed me to make mistakes without pulling me for it. The message has always been the same — play your game and you’ll be fine. They’ve just always been completely supportive.”

In her 532-kill season, Schrom reached double-digit kills in 27 of 31 matches. She tallied her career high in kills in a match with 29 against Middle Tennessee on Sept. 12.

The transition to outside hitter also helped with the development of her defensive game. Emmy tallied 320 digs on the year, while also carding a double-double — double-digit kills and double-digit digs in a single match — 15 times.

“I couldn’t have done it all without my teammates,” Schrom said, “and I’m happy that it came with the success of the team. It gives me a lot of confidence going into next year.”

With her instant production and impact, it’s become clear to all coaches and teammates that Schrom’s game can only get better.

“Before games, our girls say that ‘the sky is the limit’,” Londot explained. “For her, I think that’s definitely true. She just continues to amaze every one of us here, and she puts everyone else on her back and leads the way.”

Noah Fries can be reached at friesn@duq.edu