Moon Township, Pa. - Day two at the Holiday Inn Invitational ended positively for the Robert Morris University volleyball team Saturday, as the Colonials downed Stetson, 3-1, and immediately followed with a 3-0 sweep of the Citadel. The pair of victories improve the Colonials to 6-1 on the 2008 campaign. Led by sixth-year head coach Rob Thomas, RMU finished second overall at the tournament, with sophomore middle blockers Amanda Graham  (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie) and Jaye Hellmich  (Costa Mesa, Calif. / Estancia) earning all-tournament honors.

Set one started off 3-0 in Stetson's favor, but back-to-back kills by Graham and Cassie Lee (Vista, Calif. / Vista) brought the Colonials within one at 3-2. Stetson sided out with a kill to take the lead 4-2, but then Graham went back to the end line and put on a serving clinic for the Hatters, earning three service aces. Graham's aces combined with a couple powerful kills by outside hitter Emily Wolthuis (Byron Center, Mich. / South Christian) and a few errors on Stetson's side gave the Colonials a 10-4 cushion. The two teams traded several side-outs with Stetson earning a few lucky bounces to bring the score to 18-15. Freshman setter Alyssa Bennett (Ramona, Calif. / Ramona) earned the set winning point for the Colonials with a clever dump over the net. The final score was 25-20.

In set two, the Colonials quickly escalated to a 10-0 lead, but Stetson slowly rallied their way back to be within eight at 15-17. Graham proved to be quite a challenge for the Hatters in the second set as she earned five kills and two blocks. As a team, the Colonials made their dominance evident as they hit a solid .367 to Stetson's .079 in the set two 25-15 win.

Robert Morris did not come out with the same amount of fight in the third set, allowing Stetson to get back in the match. The Hatters led for the majority of the beginning of the set, but slowly RMU regained their groove and brought the score within one at 13-14. A block by Hellmich tied it up at fourteen and a kill by Charla Drabant (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North) gave the Colonials the 15-14 lead. The two teams battled back and forth with neither team earning runs with the serve. Stetson ended up winning the battle in the third set 28-26.

The Colonials returned to the court energized and confident in the fourth set and their performance showed it. The Colonials forceful offense and stingy defense caused a lot of difficulty for Stetson, allowing them only three kills and nine digs. In contrast, the Colonials were killing ball after ball and serving aces. The set ended 25-13 with the Colonials earning 15 kills, 13 digs, five service aces and two blocks.

The match win earned four Colonials double digit kills, with Wolthuis leading the way with a double-double performance of 13 kills and 13 digs, to go along with two service aces. Graham and Drabant each added 11 kills and four blocks to the win, with Graham also putting up an impressive seven service aces. Hellmich led the team in hitting percentage with a .500 average on ten put downs to go along with six blocks. Senior opposite Lee also had a strong performance earning nine kills, five assists, eight digs and four blocks in the win. Bennett dished out 46 assists, four kills on .667 hitting, three service aces, 11 digs and two blocks, while Alaina Gibson (Muncie, Ind. / Muncie Burris) led defensively with 17 digs and one service ace.

The Colonials momentum from the first match carried over to the second match against the Citadel, with Robert Morris easily topping the Bulldogs in three sets. In set one Outside hitters Wolthuis and Drabant put on a show earning six kills each. Bennett also showed off her offense skills earning two kills on a .667 hitting percentage.  Both teams had strong attacking performances with the Colonials earning 20 kills on .421 hitting and the Bulldogs putting up 16 kills on .378 hitting. The Colonials got the edge, winning 25-22 due to their strong defense, earning 17 digs to the Citadel's 11.

In set two, Robert Morris stunned the Bulldogs by winning the set 25-11. Wolthuis and Drabant added five and three kills, respectively to the win, while Hellmich added three. The Colonial defense showed its vigor, forcing the Bulldogs to hit negative and earn only four kills.

The Colonials closed out the match winning the third set by a similar score of 25-12. Wolthuis led in kills for the second straight match with 13, while also adding one service ace and five digs. Drabant was not far behind with 11 kills and six digs and Lee tallied four blocks, four assists, five digs and three kills on a .429 average. Hellmich and Graham earned a combined 12 kills and six blocks, while Bennett put up 33 assists.

The 6-1 Colonials return home next weekend to face Elon, Youngstown State, Howard and Saint Peter's in the Robert Morris Invitational on Friday, Sept. 12, Saturday, Sept. 13 and Sunday, Sept. 14.

All-Tournament Team

Amanda Graham - Robert Morris

Jaye Hellmich - Robert Morris

Amanda Beal - The Citadel

Melanie Boyer - Stetson

Jennica Hagberg - Stetson

Cole Dawley - College of Charleston

Emily Sawin - College of Charleston

Tournament MVP - Elyse Chubb - College of Charleston