Loretto, Pa. - The Robert Morris University volleyball team had three players hit at least .500 as the Colonials dispatched in-state rival Saint Francis (Pa.), 25-22, 21-25, 25-16, 25-17, Wednesday evening at DelGol Arena to maintain a share of first place in the Northeast Conference (NEC) heading into the league's final weekend of regular-season play.

With the victory, Robert Morris' ninth consecutive conference win, the Colonials move to 13-2 in NEC play and remain tied atop the league with Sacred Heart who was victorious in five games Wednesday evening. RMU can claim at least a share of the regular-season crown with a victory Saturday against Fairleigh Dickinson. Additionally, Robert Morris can clinch the top seed for the upcoming NEC Tournament Saturday if it wins and Quinnipiac falls to St. Francis (N.Y.).

If the Bobcats and Colonials both prevail Saturday, RMU would earn the No. 1 seed Sunday if any of the following occur: Long Island defeats Sacred Heart or Saint Francis (Pa.) defeats Fairleigh Dickinson or Central Connecticut State defeats Quinnipiac.

Senior captain Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie), junior Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) and sophomore Amanda Craig (Houston, Texas / St. Agnes Academy) led the offensive charge against the Red Flash by hitting .500, .526 and .500, respectively.

Veith posted a team-high 11 kills on just 19 attempts with a lone error to record the match high in hitting percentage. It was the seventh match this season in which she has hit at least .500 and the third time in the last four matches that she has hit at least .450. Veith also collected a match-high six blocks and is now just three shy of breaking the RMU single-season school record of 144. It was the 12th time this season that she has registered at least six blocks in a match.

Graham and Craig posted identical lines of seven kills on 12 attempts with a single error to aid the Colonial cause. It was the sixth time this season that Graham has hit at least .500 in a match and the third such occurrence for Craig. Graham's total also moved her into fifth place on the all-time kills list at RMU as she now has 1,074 for her career.

Saint Francis, fighting for its playoff life, jumped out quickly to take six of the first eight points in the opening game. The Colonials responded by taking four consecutive points to even the score. The teams split the next 16 points evenly and were tied, 14-14. The Red Flash took three of the next four exchanges to open up a three-point lead and still held the same margin, 20-17, five points from the game. Facing the prospect of an early deficit, the Colonials responded by taking five consecutive points, in which senior captain Charla Drabant (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North) produced a kill and an ace, to take a two-point edge. Saint Francis won back-to-back points to tie the game again before RMU took three consecutive rallies to complete the comeback and take game one.

After the teams split the first 18 points of game two, Saint Francis won four straight points to take a 13-9 lead. Though RMU almost came back to tie it at 13-12, the Colonials were never able to catch Saint Francis as the Red Flash maintained an edge through the duration of the game to even the match.

Robert Morris and Saint Francis split the first 10 points of game three before RMU gained a little breathing room. The Colonials went on a 6-1 run to take an 11-6 edge. With Robert Morris still ahead by five, 16-11, the Colonials took six straight rallies to blow the game wide open and used the 11-point cushion to cruise to the game victory.

The Colonials took the early edge in game four, claiming eight of the first 12 points as four players--Graham, Craig, Drabant and sophomore Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun)--tallied kills during the run. Both RMU and the Red Flash took 11 of the next 22 rallies, leaving the Colonials just six points from the match. Robert Morris wasted no time in closing it out as it went on a 6-2 spurt to finish it off as Veith and Monger combined on a block to put the finishing touches on the victory.

Monger led RMU and tied the match high with 14 digs, marking the 14th time in the last 15 matches that she has reached double digits in that category.

With the victory, Robert Morris is back to .500 for the season (16-16) after falling as many as nine games below the halfway point during the middle portion of its schedule. The Colonials also tied their season high by recording nine aces against Saint Francis (Pa.).

The RMU win also gave it the season sweep of Saint Francis, improving the Colonials to 45-9 all-time against the Red Flash, and was its 21st consecutive regular-season victory over Saint Francis.

Robert Morris will wrap up its scheduled slate Saturday and attempt to gain at least a share of the NEC regular-season title by hosting Fairleigh Dickinson. It will be the final regular-season home match for five Colonials--Drabant, Graham, Addie Jennings (Santa Barbara, Calif. / Dos Pueblos), Jaye Hellmich (Costa Mesa, Calif. / Estancia) and Corinne Moser (Meyersdale, Pa. / Meyersdale). First serve is set for Noon.