Box Score Pittsburgh, Pa. - After the Robert Morris University and University of Pittsburgh volleyball teams had played 203 points, the squads were deadlocked, 13-13, in the decisive fifth game with each two points from the match. The Panthers were able to put down kills on the next two rallies to claim a nail-biting, 3-2 victory over the Colonials inside Fitzgerald Field House Tuesday evening.
The Colonials put up numerous record-setting performances on both the team and individual fronts, highlighted by RMU's 62 kills, the most by Robert Morris in its last 57 matches.
Senior captain Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie) posted a season-high and team-high 17 kills to lead three players in double-digits for RMU. With her performance, Graham moved into seventh place in career kills on the school's all-time list and now sits just 17 shy of 1,000 for her career. Junior Hannah Veith (Columbus Ohio / Worthington) hit a match-high .294 (min. 10 attempts) while collecting 13 kills, the fifth time in her last seven matches she has reached double figures.
Sophomore Andrea Catucci (Davidsonville, Md. / Archbishop Spalding) helped set up the Colonial attack and collected her third double-double of the season on the strength of career highs in both assists in digs. Catucci put up a team season-high 34 assists and added 12 digs. Catucci was one of four Colonials to reach double figures in digs as Robert Morris posted a season-high 95.
Sophomore Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) tallied double-digit digs for her sixth consecutive match, leading RMU with a career-high and team season-high 31 and fell a kill short of her third double-double this season. Senior captains Corinne Moser (Meyersdale, Pa. / Meyersdale) and Charla Drabant (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North) both helped the defensive effort as Moser added a season-high 23 while Drabant registered a new RMU career-high with 18.
After splitting the first 20 points of the match with neither team leading by more than two, Robert Morris won six straight points to take a 16-10 lead. Pittsburgh responded by taking 11 of the next 14 points to open up a two-point edge, 21-19. Still trailing by two, 22-20, Robert Morris proceeded to win five of the next six points to come back and take an opening game that featured 10 ties.
Pittsburgh came out very strong in the second game and took 10 of the first 11 points to take a commanding lead. The Colonials took four consecutive points to pull within five, but they would be unable to get any closer the rest of the way. The Panthers extended their lead in the closing portion and took game two by 12 points.
The third game was one of the closest this season for the Colonials as it featured 14 ties and 10 lead changes with neither team leading by more than three points. After they split the first 20 points again, the Panthers slowly build a three-point edge by taking nine of the next 15 points. RMU responded by winning the next four points out of a timeout to retake the lead, 20-19, and neither team would lead by more than one until the game's conclusion. After falling behind 24-23, the Colonials saved game point when sophomore Amanda Craig (Houston, Texas / St. Agnes Academy) drilled a kill. A service ace by Drabant gave RMU a game point of its own before a Graham kill gave the Colonials a 2-1 lead in games.
Robert Morris jumped out to an early lead in game four, taking 10 of the first 13 points. The Panthers came roaring back, cutting the lead to four, before using a 14-2 run to open up a 23-15 lead. Pittsburgh extended the match with a nine-point victory.
Pittsburgh took four of the first six points in the final game, but RMU went on a 9-3 run to take an 11-7 lead. The Panthers took the next four exchanges to even the match. The teams were tied at 12 and 13 before the Panthers closed it out.
Robert Morris, ranked 18th nationally in blocks per game entering the week, outblocked the Panthers 12-9. An opponent has not outblocked RMU in its last 14 matches. Veith, the NEC leader in blocks per game, led RMU with a match-high six blocks while Graham added five with each collecting two solo rejections. With their performances, both Veith and Graham moved into the top 10 in school history for single-season total blocks with 10 matches remaining. Graham, the all-time RMU leader in career block assists also moved into third place on the single-season block assist list, trailing only her own two marks from the previous two seasons.
Robert Morris will look to get back on track this weekend as the Colonials host a pair of Northeast Conference (NEC) opponents. RMU will play Long Island Saturday, Oct. 23, and St. Francis (N.Y.) Sunday, Oct. 24. Both matches will start at 1 p.m. Robert Morris currently is in second place in the NEC with a 5-2 league mark.
