Moon Township, Pa. ? Nov. 15, 2008 ? The Robert Morris University Colonials, under the direction of sixth-year head coach Rob Thomas, swept the Quinnipiac Bobcats, 3-0 to become the 2008 NEC Regular Season Champions on Saturday afternoon at the Charles L. Sewall Center. This is the Colonials first regular-season championship since 2004. Outside hitters Emily Wolthuis (Byron Center, Mich. / South Christian) and Charla Drabant (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North) led Robert Morris with a combined 27 kills.

The Robert Morris Colonials proved why they were 6-0 in the NEC from the beginning of the match, as they led the first set for the entire 25 points. Wolthuis and Drabant added five and four kills, respectively, in the first set and as a team Robert Morris tallied 18 kills to Quinnipiac's 11.

The Colonials refused to let up in the second set, as they crushed the Bobcats 25-14. As a team, Robert Morris hit a .333 average to the Bobcats .100 average. The Colonial defense held the Bobcats to just eight kills, while Robert Morris was able to put down 16 kills. Wolthuis led the second set with another five kill performance.

The third set looked very similar to the first two, with the Colonials finishing off the Bobcats 25-17 for the match win and the title of NEC Regular Season Champions. Drabant tallied a career high of kills in a set with eight, going eight for fifteen, while also notching a career high of kills in a three-set match with 14.

Wolthuis was not far behind Drabant with 13 kills on .478 hitting, while also adding six digs and a service ace. Freshman setter Alyssa Bennett (Ramona, Calif. / Ramona) earned a career high of assists in a three-set match with 39 and also added five kills, three service aces, three digs and three blocks.

Senior libero Alaina Gibson (Muncie, Ind. / Muncie) led the defense with 18 digs and senior opposite Cassie Lee (Vista Calif. / Vista) dug up seven balls, while also adding six kills. Freshman middle blocker Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) led the team in hitting percentage with a .500 average.

Five seniors will be honored tomorrow during the Colonials final regular-season contest against the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils. The Colonials will look for their sixth consecutive win and eighth straight league win to finish the season undefeated in NEC action. The conference match begins at 3:00 p.m. at the Charles L. Sewall Center.