In match one against Elon, the Colonials started off in control hitting .312 to Elon's .033 and putting down twice as many kills to earn the set one win, 25-20. Leading the way for RMU was NEC Player of the Week Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie), who grabbed five kills in the first set alone. Sophomore's Charla Drabant (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North) and Jaye Hellmich (Costa Mesa, Calif. / Dos Pueblos) each added three kills to the set one victory.

Set two appeared no different than the first, with the Colonials topping the Phoenix 25-21. The win was truly a team effort with four players contributing three kills apiece to the victory. Despite the win, the Elon Phoenix started to play with more consistency and strength, earning a .172 hitting average.

As Elon's play started to improve in the third set, Robert Morris found themselves faced with almost a different team.  Neither Robert Morris nor Elon had a demanding lead throughout the set and both teams traded side-outs until the very end. The set featured many nail-biting rallies, but Elon was the one that ended the battle earning the 26-24 victory and forcing the match into the fourth set.

Elon took charge in the fourth set and had a marginal lead throughout the set that Robert Morris could never seem to close in on.  The Phoenix ended set four 25-18. In set five, Robert Morris had a surge of energy, leading several times during the set. Towards the end, the Phoenix made several key plays to take the win 16-14.

Graham led the Colonials with a season high 19 kills on a .485 hitting average, while also putting in three aces and a block assist.  Drabant finished the match with a double-double earning 14 kills and 11 digs.

Freshman setter Alyssa Bennett (Ramona, Calif. / Ramona) commanded the offense contributing 43 assists and three service aces, while senior libero Alaina Gibson (Muncie, Ind. / Muncie Burris) put up a match high 18 digs which put her into third-place in the career record books with 1,543 digs.

Leading the way for Elon was Traci Stewart who earned a double-double in the win with 14 kills and 15 digs to go along with four blocks and one service ace. Sarah Schermerhorn and Caroline Lemke also finished in double-digit kills with 15 and 10, respectively.

Later that evening Robert Morris fell to cross-town rival Youngstown State in three sets. Despite a strong defensive showing by Gibson, who tallied a match high 15 digs in the loss, Youngstown was able to surpass the Colonials.

In set one, the Penguins and the Colonials remained relatively even with Robert Morris tallying 13 kills and YSU earning 12.  However, the Penguin block challenged the Colonials forcing them to make a few errors, giving Youngstown State the 25-20 victory in set one.

In the next two sets, YSU continued to dominate, but the Colonials never gave up without a fight. Graham took charge of the Colonials in sets two and three earning seven kills on zero errors, while Gibson continued to pick up almost impossible balls.  Even with the tremendous effort, Youngstown State went on to win set two 25-19 and set three 25-20.

Graham led the Colonials in match two with nine kills on a .529 hitting average, while Drabant also chipped in nine kills. Seniors Emily Wolthuis  (Byron Center, Mich. / South Christian) and Gibson both finished with double-digit-digs with 10 and 15, respectively.

Senior Cassie Lee (Vista, Calif. / Vista) finished with five kills on a .308 average and seven digs, and Bennett added 29 assists and seven digs.

Youngstown State was led by Ruth Boscaljon, who put down nine kills and four blocks. Haley Kapferer earned a team high five blocks and Amanda Gray led the team in digs with 13.

The Robert Morris Colonials are now 6-3 and will return to the Robert Morris Sewall Center on Saturday, Sept. 13 to face Howard at 7:30 p.m.