Ashani Rubin admitted she wasn’t entirely sure which one of the Manthorpe twins recruited her to play volleyball nearly seven years ago while at Merion Mercy Academy in Merion, Pa. It was her sophomore year at Merion, and she decided to give volleyball a try. By her senior year, she was a regular on a varsity squad that included the Manthorpe twins and finished 40-0 on the way to a state championship. It was during that year that the Seton Hall coaching staff recruited Rubin along with the twins.
Seton Hall Athletics
Telling the two apart wasn’t always easy, but now as the three are in the midst of a tremendous senior season in which the Pirates have boasted a 22-6 record, she can distinguish the two. She also says she finally sees herself as a contributor.
“I feel like I’m finally contributing something,” Rubin said. “Blocking has always been my forte. It’s always been the thing that I’ve been good at. To be able to come in this year and make such a huge difference on the court in my blocking, it just feels so good.”
Rubin leads the Big East with 25 blocks on the season and leads the blue and white in block assists with 122. She is averaging a team-high 1.44 blocks-per-set, and is tied for the conference lead in that category with Creighton-senior Maddie Blocker.
The Philadelphia-native’s love for blocking has helped earn her some accolades this season including being named a Big East Defensive Player of the Week, an honor she received in October following a home match against conference-opponent Creighton. The Pirates defeated the Bluejays in five sets and totaled 22 team blocks, Rubin tallied two blocks and added 10 block assists for the strong defensive effort. The mid-blocker followed the performance against Creighton with another strong showing versus Georgetown a night later, recording two blocks and 9 block assists, blocking 11 attacks by the Hoyas.
“Last year when I was playing, I’d be disappointed in myself—there were balls I didn’t block or balls I didn’t get kills on,” she said. “This year I feel so much better about myself, I walk onto the court and think ‘I’m ready to block’—that’s my role.”
Beyond the blocks and accolades, Rubin’s academics have kept the senior busy during her four years at Seton Hall. A nursing major, she has become well-versed in the structure of school and sport.
“It’s been a tough road for me,” she said. “It’s a lot of time consumption.” Rubin added that while the time commitment between the role of athlete and student has been difficult, it has also supplied a great deal of structure, something she says helps her balance the two.
“I have to be very conscious as a student,” Rubin said of the balancing act between school and volleyball.
She admitted that the thought of changing her major crossed her head once or twice, but with graduation nearing her focus is on finishing.
“Once you start, you just kind of have to finish it,” Rubin said. “You’ve put so much work into it, you want to finish.”
While academically, it has at times been a struggle to manage the two roles of student in one of the more competitive and challenging majors, Rubin credits the support system of athletics for helping her stay afloat.
“They’re very helpful for the athletes,” she said. “They always push academics first. It’s been very supportive from everyone, including coaches.”
And with graduation in clear sight for this nursing major, what might life after Seton Hall bring? Rubin said she’s not quite sure just yet, but knows a few spots where she has interest.
“I really like child birth—labor and delivery,” she said. “I’m also leaning toward hospice care. Those are my two main options—there are a few other ones in between.”
Neal McHale can be reached at neal.mchale@student.shu.edu or on twitter @nealmchale.
