Box Score Moon Township, Pa. - Senior captain Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie) hit at an amazing .750 clip to lead the Robert Morris University volleyball team to a sweep of visiting Quinnipiac, 25-9, 25-13, 25-22, and into a tie for first place in the Northeast Conference (NEC) standings Sunday afternoon at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
The RMU victory, its fifth straight overall, coupled with a loss by Sacred Heart left both squads at 12-2 in league play as each has two matches remaining. Robert Morris currently holds the advantage due to the league's complex tiebreaking procedure, but that is subject to change depending on results in other teams' matches in the final week of conference play. The Pioneers entered the weekend undefeated in the NEC and on a 20-match winning streak before the Colonials authored a stunning five-game comeback Saturday to take down Sacred Heart.
Graham helped RMU to both its eighth consecutive home win and eighth consecutive conference win by recording the second highest hitting percentage of her career and the highest in her last 89 matches. Graham, who posted nine kills on 12 attempts without an error, has now hit at least .400 in 11 matches this season and is hitting a combined .403 in home matches.
"I'm pleased with the sweep," head coach Dale Starr said. "Our middles played very well. I wasn't thrilled with our performance in the third game, but on the whole it was good to see how we came back today after such an emotional win yesterday. That isn't always easy to do, so I'm happy we were able to take it in three."
Sophomore Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) continued her run of contributing on both ends of the floor as she registered a double-double for the fourth consecutive match by posting match highs in both kills, 11, and digs, 12. She becomes the first Colonial to collect a double-double in four consecutive matches since Emily Wolthius achieved the feat in September 2007. Monger also hit .318 for the match and has now hit at least .300 in three consecutive matches for the first time in her career.
Junior Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) drilled eight kills on just 15 attempts to hit .467 for the match and contributed a match-high four blocks. Veith is now just eight blocks shy of Rachel Leitch's single-season school record of 144 total blocks. It also is the 11th match in which Veith has hit .400 or better this season.
The contributions of the aforementioned trio helped RMU hit .313 as a team for the match, marking the second time in its last three matches that Robert Morris has hit at least .300. The Colonials also held Quinnipiac to a .000 hitting percentage, which gave them their best advantage in the hitting percentage category over an opponent in their last 41 matches. Robert Morris has also held three of its last four opponents to percentages under .100, marking the first such four-match stretch since September 2007.
After its exciting victory Saturday, Robert Morris showed absolutely no sign of a letdown in the first game. RMU never trailed in storming out of the gates as it took 11 of the first 13 points as four Colonials--Veith, Monger, senior Addie Jennings (Santa Barbara, Calif. / Dos Pueblos) and sophomore Amanda Craig (Houston, Texas / St. Agnes Academy)--collected kills. Robert Morris never was threatened again and led by as many as 17 in cruising to the early lead.
Quinnipiac managed to hang with Robert Morris a little longer in the second game before succumbing to the Colonial attack. The Bobcats held a slim 12-11 lead as neither team led by more than two in the early going. Robert Morris suddenly caught fire as RMU took nine consecutive points to open up a 20-12 lead. After the Bobcats took a single point, Robert Morris continued to push forward and took five straight points for the commanding two-game lead. Veith had three blocks and two kills, including the game-clincher, during the 14-1 Colonial run.
The third game proved to be the tightest of the bunch. Robert Morris took an early 8-5 edge, but the Bobcats produced an 8-2 run after a timeout to give themselves a three-point advantage, 13-10. RMU came right back by taking seven of the next eight rallies to put the three-point lead back in their column. Quinnipiac cut the lead to one, 17-16 before RMU used a 7-2 run to put the game and the match out of reach for the Bobcats. A kill by senior captain Charla Drabant (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North) closed out the sweep for the Colonials.
With the win, the Colonials topped both their overall victory total from a season ago and their conference win total from last season. Robert Morris has also now defeated every other team in the NEC at least once this season.
Robert Morris held the Bobcats to just 44 points for the match, the fewest it has held an opponent to this season. The Colonials improved to 14-2 all-time against the Bobcats.
Robert Morris will next play a mid-week conference match as its final regular-season road game is Wednesday, Nov. 10, against in-state rival Saint Francis (Pa.). The Red Flash will certainly prove a challenging foe as they are fresh off a victory over 25-6 Sacred Heart and are tied in the win column for the final playoff spot entering the final week of regular-season play. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m.
