New Britain, Conn. - Oct. 31, 2009 - The Robert Morris University Colonials avenged their five-set loss to the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils from earlier in the season by capturing their second five-set match win of the season (27-25, 17-25, 25-23, 21-25 and 16-14). After trading sets, Robert Morris slipped past CCSU in an exciting 16-14 fifth set victory on Saturday afternoon.
Neither the Colonials nor the Blue Devils would give up set one easily, but Robert Morris prevailed by winning 27-25. Robert Morris started out with the first point when sophomore Hannah Veith (Worthington, Ohio / Columbus) and freshman Amanda Craig (Houston, Texas / St. Agnes Academy) denied a CCSU attacker with a block. A Blue Devil attacking error put RMU up 2-0, but Central Connecticut State answered back with the next three points. Veith tallied RMU's first kill of the game to knot the score 3-3 and two teams swapped the next several points. At 17-16 in CCSU's favor the Blue Devils earned the biggest lead of the game at 20-16 when RMU suffered two attacking errors and the Blue Devils put down two kills. Robert Morris responded with a sharp shot by Jessy Nelko (Aliquippa, Pa. Hopewell) straight down the line, which was followed by a kill from Veith and an RMU service ace to bring the score within one at 20-21. The Blue Devils were finally able to side out and grabbed a three point cushion at 23-20. Following an RMU timeout, the Colonials came back on fire and brought the score to 23-23. The two squads continued to battle back and forth until back-to-backs kills by Craig gave RMU the win.
Central Connecticut did not give up after set one and took the second 25-17. Veith started off the set with a kill, but the Blue Devils captured the next four points to earn a three point cushion. The Blue Devils continued to lead with Robert Morris trailing behind by only a few points until CCSU went on a nine point run to gain a 24-14 advantage. The Colonials made one final attempt to stop the win, scoring three points on CCSU's set point. However, a kill by Central Connecticut's Tori Vaughan gave the Blue Devils the win to even up the match 1-1.
Robert Morris entered set three strong and tallied the first two points off a kill and a block from junior Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie). The Blue Devils responded back with two points to even the score at 2-2. The Colonials then went on a three point run with a kill from Craig and consecutive blocks to set the score at 5-3. Robert Morris continued to extend its lead and two kills from Nelko gave RMU its largest lead of the set at 10-4. RMU continued to lead, but Central Connecticut slowly made their way back into the game until they knotted the score 19-19. Robert Morris quickly recovered and captured a 24-20 lead, but Central Connecticut would not be silenced and brought the score within one at 24-23. Once again, a hard kill by Craig ended the set with an RMU 25-23 win.
In the fourth set the Colonials and the Blue Devils traded points until 7-7 when a kill by Craig, a service ace from Graham and a CCSU error gave the Colonials a 10-7 lead. The Blue Devils were finally able to side out and went on a four point run to take the lead 12-11. The Colonials sided out to knot the score 12-12, but CCSU tallied the next five points to earn a 17-12 advantage. They never relinquished the lead and took the fourth set 25-20.
RMU dominated the start of the fifth set by earning the first four points off two kills from Graham and two errors by the Blue Devils. CCSU sided out with a block and brought the score to 4-2 off an RMU error. Robert Morris continued to lead until the Blue Devils went on a three point lead to bring the score within two at 12-10. The two squads swapped side outs, but an RMU error knotted the score at 13-13. In an exciting ending, the Blue Devils and the Colonials continued to trade side-outs, but the Colonials put an ending to the set when CCSU committed an error and Craig tallied the set-winning point for the third time of the match to give Robert Morris the 16-14 victory.
Graham led the Colonials with 13 kills, six blocks and four service aces. Craig and Veith also recorded double-digit kills with 12 and 11, respectively and both tallied a match high eight blocks. Craig also registered 15 digs for her third double-double of the season and junior libero Corinne Moser (Meyersdale, Pa. / Meyersdale) captured a career-high 30 digs. Sophomore setter Alyssa Bennett (Ramona, Calif. / Ramona) finished with 44 assists, 11 digs and eight kills.
The Colonials return to action tomorrow when they face Bryant in Smithfield, R.I. at 1:00 p.m.
