Kent, Ohio - Sept. 18, 2009 - The Robert Morris University Colonials suffered their eighth straight loss on Friday to Kent State, falling to the Golden Flashes by a score of 3-0 at the M.A.C Center. The Colonials made a run for it in the third set, but were unable to establish the win. Robert Morris was defeated by scores of 25-11, 25-13 and 25-21 in the opening match of the Kent State/Mizuno Open.
The Colonials started out on a good note in the first set with freshman Amanda Craig (Houston, Tex. / St. Agnes Academy) tallying a kill and a service ace to take a 2-1 lead. The two squads continued to trade side outs until a kill by Kent State's Lauren Jones gave them a 5-4 lead and started a three point run. The Colonials fought hard to get back into the set, but the Golden Flash continued to lead for the remainder of play and won 25-11.
The second set looked very similar to the first with the Colonials falling 25-13. The Golden Flashes started out with a 5-1 lead, but RMU freshman Nicole Wiechecki (Wilmington, Del. / Ursuline Academy) went on a four point serving run and freshman Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) tallied two back-to-back kills to knot the score 5-5. However, Kent was quickly able to take back the lead with a serving run by Zuzana Markova. Once again, the Golden Flashes never relinquished the lead and won to gain a two set advantage.
Robert Morris returned in third set with a lot more fire power and started off the game on a four-point run off the serve by junior Jaye Hellmich (Costa Mesa, Calif. / Estancia). Sophomore Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) tallied two kills in the process and Craig added one. Kent State was able to side out a couple times, but the Colonials were able to extend their lead to 9-3 after the Golden Flashes made several errors. Kent State slowly worked their way back into the set and tied things up 17-17 off a kill by Lauren Jones. The two teams swapped points for the next few plays, but at 20-20 Kent State tallied four consecutive points to bring the score to 24-20. In an attempt to prevent the win, senior Jessy Nelko (Aliquippa, Pa. / Hopewell) tallied a kill to bring the score within three. However, a kill by KSU's Arjola Prenga gave the Golden Flashes the match win.
Monger led the Colonials with six kills, while Veith led the team with a .375 hitting percentage and tallied four kills. The Colonials return to action today at 5:00 p.m. to take on Butler.
