Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University volleyball team hit over .300 in three of the four games it played, but it wasn't enough to overcome a resilient Fairleigh Dickinson team as the Knights took a 3-1 decision in Northeast Conference (NEC) action Saturday afternoon in RMU's regular-season finale at the Charles L. Sewall Center.

RMU finished its NEC slate at 13-3 and is currently a half game behind Sacred Heart as the Pioneers were idle Saturday. Despite the loss, Robert Morris still has a chance to earn the right to host the upcoming NEC Tournament depending on the result of Sunday's match between Long Island and Sacred Heart.

If the Blackbirds can knock off the Pioneers, the Colonials will gain the No. 1 seed and will host the conference tournament next weekend, Nov.20-21. If Sacred Heart is victorious Sunday, Robert Morris will be the second seed and will play third-seeded Long Island at Sacred Heart next Saturday, Nov. 20.

Senior captain Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie) led the Colonial offensive attack by recording a team-high 13 kills and a match-high .407 hitting percentage. It was her 14th match this season recording double-digit kills and the 13th occasion in which she has hit at least .400 in a match. She is now hitting a team-leading .403 in home matches.

Graham also led a strong Colonial blocking effort by rejecting a match-high seven balls, the eighth time this season she has blocked at least seven in a match. Two other Colonials tied their career highs in blocks as seniors Jaye Hellmich (Costa Mesa, Calif. / Estancia) and Charla Drabant (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North) tallied six and five, respectively. RMU outblocked the Knights 12-6.5 for the match and still has only been outblocked twice this season.

Sophomore Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) helped RMU on both ends of the court again by recording her sixth double-double in her last eight matches. Monger totaled 12 kills and 13 digs to register her eighth career double-double, the most among all active Colonials in a RMU uniform.

After Fairleigh Dickinson took five of the first nine rallies, Robert Morris caught fire, winning 15 of the next 18 points to take a commanding 11-point lead, allowing the Colonials to cruise to the game one victory. RMU had three aces, six kills and five blocks during the run and hit a cumulative .321 in the first game.

After the Knights opened up a 13-10 lead in the second game, RMU rallied by collecting three of the next four points to knot the game at 14. After the teams split the ensuing two points, Fairleigh Dickinson ran off seven consecutive points to give itself a lead that proved too much for the Colonials to overcome.

RMU took the lead early in game three and still maintained an advantage near the midway mark as the Colonials led 14-10. The Knights came back and tied the game, 18-18, before the teams evenly split the following eight points. With the score knotted at 22, Fairleigh Dickinson won three straight points to take the 2-1 lead in games despite Robert Morris hitting at a .400 clip for the duration of the third game.

The Knights used this momentum to take six of the opening seven points in game four, but Robert Morris refused to go away. The Colonials went on a 13-6 run to not only erase the Knights' lead, but claim it for themselves. With RMU still up 19-17, Fairleigh Dickinson won four consecutive exchanges to put the two-point margin in its column. Though Robert Morris cut the lead to a single point on three occasions, the Colonials were unable to catch the Knights before Fairleigh Dickinson tallied its 25th point of the game to take the match.

Freshman Alex Deines (Centennial, Colo. / Littleton) fell a dig shy of a double-double as she collected a team-leading 25 assists and nine digs. Senior Corinne Moser (Meyersdale, Pa. / Meyersdale) tied the game-high with 21 digs, the fourth time in the last 11 matches that she has reached at least 20.

Drabant added 15 digs, the 19th time this season she has reached double digits in that category, and tallied six kills as well. Junior Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) collected six kills on just 10 attempts and hit .400 for the match, marking the fourth time in the last five matches she has hit at least .400.

It was the first loss at home for RMU since August and their first of the season inside the Sewall Center. It also ended the Colonials' nine-match NEC winning streak.

With its regular season complete, Robert Morris will begin its quest for eighth NEC tournament championship next Saturday, Nov. 20, against an opponent and at a location that will be determined after the conclusion of Sunday's conference matches.