Box Score Smithfield, R.I. - The Robert Morris University volleyball team was just six points away from extending its road winning streak to eight matches, but host Bryant rallied in the final set to claim a five-game victory in Northeast Conference (NEC) action Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.
In spite of the defeat, senior captain Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) reached a major career milestone Saturday as her 15 kills allowed her to become only the eighth Colonial in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. The veteran reached the mark with a kill right in the middle of the third set, allowing her to also become just the third student-athlete at RMU to surpass both the 1,000 kill and 400 block marks for her career. Veith, who has now posted double-figure kill totals in 18 of her past 25 matches, currently ranks second all-time in career attack percentage with her .348 mark.
Robert Morris, which has clinched a NEC Tournament berth for the 13th-consecutive season, dropped a NEC road match for the first time in its last 11 such contests.
Junior Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) had one of the best statistical matches of her career as she delivered match highs in both kills with 18 and digs with 28, the latter of which tied the team season high. She committed only three hitting errors to post a .417 percentage, the third time this season she has hit better than .400. Monger's effort was her 15th double-double of the season and the 10th such occurrence in her past 13 matches. She has also now reached double digits in digs in 15 consecutive matches.
Freshman Hannah Hoffman (Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa) was largely responsible for setting up Veith, Monger and the rest of the Colonial attack as the rookie joined Veith in registering a notable milestone. Hoffman's ninth assist, coming in the second half of the first set, made her just the fifth Colonial in school history to record a 1,000-assist season. She finished the match with her sixth double-double of the season on the strength of a match-high 50 assists and 11 digs. Hoffman collected back-to-back double-doubles for the first time this season while also notching her fourth 50+ assist match.
After the teams split the opening 10 points of the match, RMU used a 6-1 run to take an 11-6 advantage and would hold the lead for the remainder of the set. The Bulldogs cut the deficit to two points on one occasion, 20-18, but after a Robert Morris timeout, the Colonials won consecutive points to quell the Bryant surge and regain control. Robert Morris held on for a 25-21 victory in the opening set thanks in part to a .364 team hitting mark.
The second set was very tight in the early going and featured 12 ties in all with neither side leading by more than three until the final exchanges. With RMU trailing 16-13, the visitors won six of the next eight points to take a slim, one-point edge. However, Bryant came right back and used a 7-1 run to close out the set and even the match.
RMU slowly pulled away from Bryant in the third set to take a 20-15 lead after the squads had previously split the opening 16 points. Once again, the Bulldogs organized a late comeback as the hosts used a 10-3 run to take a two sets to one advantage.
Robert Morris won the first point of the fourth set and led for over 40 points until Bryant gained its first tie of the game at 21-21. Despite trailing nearly the entire game, the Bulldogs earned match points at 24-23 and 25-24, but kills by Monger saved both and kept RMU alive. With the score even at 25, the Colonials used a block and a Bulldog error to force a decisive set with a 27-25 victory.
RMU held an 8-6 edge at the changeover in the fifth, but Bryant used the break to regroup as the hosts won the ensuing six points to take a four-point advantage, the margin by which the Bulldogs would win the final set.
Freshman Regan Macomson (Hendersonville, N.C. / West Henderson) provided a season-high six kills on nine attempts without an error to hit .667 and also added five blocks. Freshman Sydney Sizemore (Covington, Ky. / Holy Cross) contributed eight kills and hit .304 for the Colonials.
Freshman Melissa Bograd (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont) tallied 13 digs to record double figures for the 11th straight match while junior Andrea Catucci (Davidsonville, Md. / Archbishop Spalding) added 10 digs to corral double-digit digs in three consecutive matches for the first time in her career.
Robert Morris will look to rebound Sunday as it plays its final regular-season road match. The Colonials meet Central Connecticut State at 1:00 p.m.
