Box Score Fairfield, Conn. - A day after eliminating six-time defending tournament champion Long Island in five games in the semifinals, the Robert Morris University volleyball team did not have enough to overcome No. 1 seed Sacred Heart as the Pioneers defeated the Colonials in three games in the rubber match between the teams in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship Sunday afternoon at the Pitt Center.
Robert Morris falls to 7-6 all time in NEC championship matches. However, the Colonials' 13 championship match appearances are far and away the most in conference history, topping second-place Long Island who has played for the title seven times.
Senior captain Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie) and junior Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) were both selected to the All-Tournament Team just two days after both were recognized as All-NEC First Team performers. It was Graham's second selection to the All-NEC Tournament Team as she also received the honor in 2007.
Graham led RMU with 20 kills for the tournament, while hitting .312, and recorded 10 blocks. Veith was next on the squad with 17 kills, hitting .295, while tallying a tournament-high 11 blocks. With her impressive blocking performance on the weekend, Veith broke Robert Morris' single-season record for total blocks and reset the new standard for 2011 and beyond at 154.
The last time these two teams met, just over two weeks ago, Sacred Heart won the first two games in relatively convincing fashion and led by five points in the third game before the Colonials came storming back--Robert Morris authored a stunning come-from-behind, exhilarating win with a 15-13 final-game victory. RMU was unable to find the magic of two weekends ago, though, as Sacred Heart was able to break through and claim the title.
Sophomore Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) led RMU with six kills and finished third on the team in 2010 with 266, topping her freshman season total by a margin of 118. A day after putting up career highs in kills and blocks in the semifinal, senior Addie Jennings (Santa Barbara, Calif. / Dos Pueblos) hit a team-high .286 for RMU in her final match as a Colonial.
Senior captain Charla Drabant (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North) tied her career high and the team season high by serving three aces against the Pioneers while senior captain Corinne Moser (Meyersdale, Pa. / Meyersdale) tallied a team-high nine digs to finish her collegiate career with 895.
After the first eight points of game one, it was relatively even as Sacred Heart led 5-3. Suddenly, the Pioneers caught fire as they took eight consecutive rallies to push their lead to double digits. Robert Morris was able to cut it down to single figures on one occasion, but Sacred Heart led by at least 10 points for much of the way and took the opening game by 16.
Sacred Heart took five of the first six points in game two before RMU came back to cut the deficit to a single point, 6-5. The Pioneers came right back by winning each of the next four exchanges to push the margin to five. Robert Morris cut the lead down to three at 10-7 but was able to get no closer the rest of the way. The Pioneers led by five or six for much of the game and ended up winning it by seven.
Robert Morris only trailed by two after 16 points in game three, but Sacred Heart proceeded to use another large run to open it up. The Pioneers used a 10-2 spurt to push their lead to double digits and clinched the match with a 13-point victory in game three.
Graham, only the second four-time All-NEC honoree in Colonial volleyball history, will leave Robert Morris as one of the most decorated players in school history. She broke the RMU single-season block assist record in 2010 and will now hold the top spot with 125. She finished her career with 428 games played, tied for seventh in program history, in 118 total matches. Graham ended her time at Robert Morris with 1,107 kills (fifth in RMU history), a .331 attack percentage (second in RMU history), 131 service aces (fifth in RMU history), 358 block assists (first in RMU history) and 438 total blocks (second in RMU history).
The five-member senior class--Drabant, Graham, Jennings, Jaye Hellmich (Costa Mesa, Calif. / Estancia) and Moser--leaves Robert Morris with 68 wins, including a perfect run through the NEC in 2008 that vaulted RMU to the regular-season title. The quintet had a winning record in conference play all four seasons and played a large role in extending the Colonials' active streak of qualifying for consecutive NEC tournament to 12 years, the longest active streak in the league.
