Box Score Moon Township, Pa. - Junior Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) hit an astounding .688 to lead the Robert Morris University volleyball team to a 25-21, 25-12, 25-14 sweep of visiting Bryant Saturday afternoon at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
Veith put down a match-high 11 kills, tying her season high, on just 16 attempts without making a single error. She has now hit at least .350 in each of the last seven matches. With the victory, the Colonials won their third consecutive match and improved to 3-0 in Northeast Conference (NEC) competition.
Senior Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie) was the other dominating force on the offensive end for the Colonials as she posted nine kills on 18 attempts, hitting .444 for the match. She also added a season-high and match-high eight blocks, five digs and two aces. Veith finished second on the squad with four blocks as the Colonials posted another impressive blocking performance, outnumbering the Bulldogs, 13-2. Robert Morris has only been outblocked once in its 18 matches this season.
The RMU blocking effort helped limit the Bulldog attack to a -.052 hitting percentage for the match, marking the first time this season that Robert Morris held its opponent to a percentage below zero.
After Bryant took four of the first game's seven points, Robert Morris exploded for a 19-6 run, in which five different Colonials pounded down kills, to take a commanding 22-10 edge. After a smaller run by the Bulldogs, Robert Morris took the game as Graham closed it out with a solo block.
The teams started out even in game two, splitting the first 12 points, but it didn't stay that way for long. RMU used a 17-4 run, in which Graham and sophomore Amanda Craig (Houston, Texas / St. Agnes Academy) each collected three kills, to take complete control of the game and the match. A Veith kill provided the exclamation point to clinch the two-game lead as the Colonials combined to hit .385 as a team in the second game, recording only three errors on 26 attempts.
The third game again featured a close beginning before Robert Morris opened up a large advantage. The teams were tied, 9-9, before RMU ran off a 16-5 run as Graham and sophomore Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) combined on a block to put the finishing touches on the victory.
Sophomore Andrea Catucci (Davidsonville, Md. / Archbishop Spalding) and freshman Alex Deines (Centennial, Colo. / Littleton) combined for 28 assists while senior captain Corinne Moser (Meyersdale, Pa. / Meyersdale) posted a team-high 15 digs for Robert Morris. Craig added six kills on 12 attempts for RMU.
The Colonials will be back in action Sunday afternoon as Central Connecticut State visits the Sewall Center for another NEC contest. First serve is set for 1:00 p.m.
