Box Score Loretto, Pa. - With host Saint Francis (Pa.) leading two sets to one and seemingly in control, the Robert Morris University volleyball team responded in a big way, hitting at a combined .386 mark for the remainder of the match, to pull off a thrilling, come-from-behind victory, winning 16-14 in the final set, Wednesday evening at DeGol Arena.
The victory was the Colonials' 10th in their past 12 overall matches, marking the first time they have posted at least 10 wins in a 12-match stretch since 2004. RMU also extended its road winning streak to seven straight matches and has now won 10 consecutive NEC road matches.
With the win, Robert Morris pushed its NEC mark to 8-2, moving into a tie for second place with Sacred Heart, a squad it knocked off earlier this month on the road.
"That was not a great effort tonight, and we certainly didn't play our best, but to our credit we battled through it and made plays when we had to to come out on top," head coach Dale Starr said. "I'm really proud of the character they showed when we didn't play close to our best. We made plays at crucial times with four freshmen on the floor, which shows a lot of maturity. That will help us down the road and be a good experience for us to draw upon as the regular season winds down."
Junior opposite hitter Amanda Craig (Houston, Texas / St. Agnes Academy) led Robert Morris with 14 kills with just three errors to hit .344. Craig, who reached double-figure kills for the eighth time this season and the 20th of her career, has now hit at least .300 in four consecutive matches for just the second time in her career.
Junior Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) just missed her ninth double-double in 10 matches as she finished with nine kills and a team-high 14 digs along with three assists and an ace. She has now reached double figures in digs in 12 consecutive matches.
Freshman Hannah Hoffman (Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa) tied for the match high with 35 assists but also aided the Colonials in other key areas. The rookie put down four kills on just seven attempts without an error to hit .571 and tallied three aces and seven digs.
"Amanda had a strong offensive output when most of our regular starters were struggling to put balls away," Starr said. "Sydney also came in and stabilized us and made two huge plays during the fifth set that gave us momentum and then on match point made a huge play on a ball at the net."
Robert Morris returns home this weekend to host a pair of Northeast Conference (NEC) matches, beginning with a date with first-place Long Island Saturday. The Colonials will go for the season sweep at 3:00 p.m.
