Moon Township, Pa. – Robert Morris University volleyball head coach Dale Starr has announced the addition of four student-athletes for the 2017 season.

Maria Alfano (Cranberry, Pa./Seneca Valley), Caroline Bain (Lower Burrell, Pa./Oakland Catholic), Whitney Brown (Avonworth, Pa./Avonworth) and Alyson Londot (Utica, Ohio/Utica) will join the Colonials for the 2017-18 academic year.

Alfano is a three-year letter winner with Seneca Valley High School volleyball. She helped lead her squad to the 2016 WPIAL Championship title in 2016, and is currently competing in the PIAA state playoffs. She was named First Team All-Section this season. She is a multi-sport athlete with six years of experience in basketball and two years of track and field (high jump).

"We are excited to be able to add Maria to our program," said Starr. "She brings great size, work ethic, and a big blocking presence to our program. She is a force in the middle, moves well for a player of her height, and will be a big part of the future of our program. She brings much needed height and a physical presence, and should be able to compete for playing time early in her career. We have big shoes to fill in the middle blocker position, and Maria will help us meet that challenge. I look forward to getting her in the gym, getting her accustomed to what we like to do and seeing how she develops. She is a great fit for our program and I am excited for her future."

Alfano is also a four-year member of the Pittsburgh Elite Volleyball Club. She played in the 2015 and 2016 Girls Junior National Championship with Pitt Elite, and plans on a third in 2017.

Bain is a four-year letter winner and three-year varsity captain of the Oakland Catholic High School volleyball squad. A three-year First Team All-Section, two-year First Team All-WPIAL, and PA Big 56 Athletic Conference Quad-A Girls Volleyball All-Section standout, the Lower Burrell, Pa., native excels on the court and in the classroom. She is an Esmark Athletic and Academic All-American and an honor roll student.

"We are excited to add Caroline to our program," Starr said. "She is a local player who we have seen develop for the past three years.  Caroline will bring tremendous athleticism to our team and be an explosive presence at the net for us on the right side.  She works extremely hard and has a big upside. I look for her to challenge for playing time right away, as we try to fill the open spot left by the graduation of April Krivoniak. I am looking forward to working with her on a daily basis.  I think she will bring great energy and enthusiasm to the gym every day."

Bain also competes for the Pittsburgh Elite Volleyball Club. She placed 21^st with PEVC at the Girls Junior National Championship in 2015, and placed fifth with her squad in 2016.

Brown was named team captain of the Avonworth High School volleyball team as a junior and senior, and has earned First Team All-Section and Third Team All-WPIAL honors. The Avonworth volleyball MVP led her team to the WPIAL semifinals and the PIAA State Championship. Academically, Brown is a scholar-athlete, and a member of both the honor roll and National Honor Society. She is also the senior class secretary, and is involved with the Health and Medicine Academy, peer mentoring, and the UPCI Academy.

"We are really excited about Whitney joining our program," said Starr of the Avonworth, Pa., product. "Setting is a big part of the success of any team, and Whitney brings a great leadership presence to our gym.  She will provide depth and push all of our setters for playing time early in her career.  She commands the offense very well, and is someone who we targeted in order to help our program to continue to move forward and compete for conference championships.  I am excited to get her in the gym and see her continue to develop.  She has all the intangibles of a great setter, and I think she is going to do great things."
 
Brown is also a member of PEVC, and helped lead her team to nationals in 2015.

Londot is a four-year varsity starter on the Utica High School volleyball team. Over the past three completed seasons, Utica compiled a 67-14 record, and earned a district championship, a district runner-up title, and a regional runner-up finish for the second time in school history and the first in 29 years. In 2016, Londot was named Licking County League, Cardinal Division Player of the Year, Central District Player of the Year, and Second Team All-Ohio. Londot is a four-time Licking County League, four-time Central District, and two-time All-Ohio honoree.

"Alyson comes to us from a very good high school program in Ohio, and a top level club program in Mintonette," Starr stated. "She is a fierce competitor who has played in the highest division of club volleyball in the country.  Having competed at such a high level in club, her transition should be pretty smooth to the college game.  She possesses the ability to play six rotations for us and should compete for time on the floor right away. We are excited and fortunate to have Alyson join our program."

In 2014 and 2015, Londot competed for Columbus Volleyball Academy's Silver Team. She transitioned to Mintonette Sports One's club team in 2016, and helped her squad to an 11^th place finish at nationals in the open division. She plans to compete for Mintonette again this club season.

"I am really excited about this recruiting class," Starr concluded. " We lose some big contributors to graduation with the departure of Arden Fisher, April Krivoniak and Leah Dunivan. Our goal with this recruiting class was to build upon the foundation that those three helped to create, and I think we did that. We added size, athleticism and competitors to our program. RMU volleyball took a big step forward today for the future of our program. All four of these student-athletes will be able to contribute to our success. I am excited to get them all in the gym and see what each of them brings to the table. I am confident that this group will help us maintain our position as one of the top teams in the Northeast Conference and a threat to win championships on a yearly basis. I look forward to seeing big things from this group in the next four years."

 
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