Moon Township, Pa. - Sophomore Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) recorded her third consecutive double-double to lead the Robert Morris University volleyball team to an improbable come-from-behind victory as the Colonials ended Sacred Heart's 20-match winning streak with a 23-25, 11-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-13 win Saturday afternoon in Northeast Conference (NEC) action at the Charles L. Sewall Center.

RMU won both its seventh consecutive home match and seventh consecutive NEC match while simultaneously handing the Pioneers their first conference loss of the season after Sacred Heart had won each of its first 12 league matches. It marks the longest in-season home winning streak for Robert Morris since 2004. The win also keeps alive the Colonials' hopes of earning the top seed for the upcoming NEC Tournament.

"I'm very proud of the heart and character that the team showed after being down two games to none," head coach Dale Starr said. "We really took over at the net in the final three games. Lindsey had one of her most consistent matches of the season, which was a big key for us. It was also encouraging to see us take down a very good team like Sacred Heart even though our middles may not have played their best matches."

It marks the first time in school history that Robert Morris has won three five-game matches over a four-match span. Additionally, in each of the past two five-game victories, the Colonials lost the first two games and trailed by as many as five points in the third game.

Monger led Robert Morris by posting her sixth double-double of the season and now leads all active RMU players in double-doubles in a Colonial uniform. She posted 11 kills, 15 digs and a career-high seven blocks while hitting .314 for the match. It marks the first time in her career that Monger has reached double figures in kills in three consecutive matches. She has also reached double digits in digs in 12 of her last 13 matches.

Two other Colonials joined Monger in having excellent blocking performances as RMU outblocked the Pioneers 16-2 for the match, tying their season high in blocking margin. Junior Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) tied her career high and the team season high by rejecting a match-high 10 balls. It is the 11th match of the season in which she has registered at least six blocks. Senior captain Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie) contributed seven blocks.

Graham supplied eight kills, Veith added seven and sophomore Amanda Craig (Houston, Texas / St. Agnes Academy) totaled eight to aid the RMU offense.

The first game was the tightest of the opening four with neither team ever holding more than a four-point edge. Robert Morris got out to an early 8-4 lead only to see the Pioneers respond with an 8-2 run to take a 12-10 lead. The Colonials came right back by taking five consecutive points, aided in part by two aces from senior captain Charla Drabant (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North). RMU still led held the same advantage 12 points later as a block by Graham and Drabant gave them a 21-18 lead. The Pioneers strung together three straight points to knot the match, 21-21. The squads found themselves tied at 22 and 23 as well before Sacred Heart won back-to-back rallies to take the opener.

After the teams split the first six points of the second game, Sacred Heart collected eight consecutive points to gain an early advantage. The Pioneers were never threatened again as they maintained that early cushion to take the commanding two-game lead.

Sacred Heart continued its strong play in the early portion of game three by taking six of the first seven exchanges and appeared on the verge of running away with the match. However, the Colonials responded against the league's best with a fury--Robert Morris went on an 11-2 run in which five players--Graham, Veith, Craig, senior Addie Jennings (Santa Barbara, Calif. / Dos Pueblos) and freshman Alex Deines (Centennial, Colo. / Littleton)--drilled kills and RMU blocked three balls. Veith played a part in all three blocks while Jennings had a hand in two. The Pioneers did cut the lead to one, 13-12, but RMU took three straight points to regain a four-point lead that would hold relatively steady. Sacred Heart did cut the lead to two, 24-22, before RMU closed out the game to extend the match.

The fourth contest was a very close affair for most of the game. The lead remained within two nearly the entire time as the squads were dead even over the first 34 points. With each team eight away from the game, RMU turned on the jets, using an 8-2 spurt, to force a decisive fifth game.

The final game proved to be a series of exciting plays as the teams traded blows throughout with neither able to open up any notable lead. The teams were tied 11 times in the shorter fifth game and were knotted at 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. A kill by none other than Monger gave RMU a match point. With the sizeable crowd rising and urging on the Colonials, RMU forced the Pioneers into an attacking error to claim one of the more exciting wins in recent memory.

Deines was the primary key to setting up the Colonial offense and recorded her fifth double-double of her rookie campaign. She notched 20 assists and 12 digs and has reached at least 20 assists in eight of her last nine matches.

After the emotional victory, the Colonials will have less than 24 hours to rest before they hit the court again to seek their eighth consecutive conference win. Robert Morris will take on Quinnipiac Sunday afternoon. First serve is set for 1:00 p.m.