Melissa Bograd (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont), Alena Esposito (Coraopolis, Pa. / Montour), Regan Macomson (Hendersonville, N.C. / West Henderson), Erica Robb (Novi, Mich. / Novi) and Sydney Sizemore (Covington, Ky. / Holy Cross) will join the most successful volleyball program in Northeast Conference (NEC) history this fall as RMU will be seeking its eighth league tournament title.

These five future Colonials, who each hail from different states, will join Hannah Hoffman (Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa High School), an all-state setter who signed in late 2010, to make up a sizeable freshman class for RMU.

"I am very pleased with this recruiting class," Starr said. "We addressed some real needs for this program. After losing five seniors, we had a lot of talent to replace. I feel we have done that with this class. We have added talent and depth to our outside hitter positions, which we didn't have last year, and we upgraded our overall ball control. All five of these players come from successful programs and are all very competitive."

Bograd, who also competes for First Alliance Volleyball Club of Chicago, was named an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 44 player in the state of Illinois as a senior. The 5'8" libero also collected all-state honorable mention, all-area and all-conference accolades. Bograd comes to Robert Morris not only as a decorated athlete, but also an accomplished scholar. A member of the National Honor Society and a National Scholar who carries a 4.0 GPA, she plans to study psychology while at RMU.

Coach Starr on Bograd:

"Melissa comes to us from a very successful high school program and a competitive club environment. Chicago has some very good high school players, and to be named as one of the top 44 players in the state of Illinois is impressive. Melissa will bring great touch on the ball in serve receive and has a great knack for the ball on defense. She will compete for our starting libero position right away, and really help to add depth to our defense. We are very excited to have Melissa join us in the fall. I look for big things from her for the next four years."

Esposito is a local product from Montour High School who plays for Renaissance Volleyball Club in Pittsburgh, Pa. She was twice named to the Section 3-AA Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) First Team and also earned a Second Team honor. She also led her team to the first ever MAC Conference Championship at Montour during her senior season. An accomplished multi-sport athlete, the 6'0" outside hitter was one of the top scorers in the WPIAL in basketball along with being ranked among the top 15 in the WPIAL in the high jump.

Coach Starr on Esposito:

"Alena comes to us as a multi-sport standout. She had a lot of success in high school and played on two separate competitive club teams. She has the athleticism to become a very solid player for us in the next few years. She will help us out with our depth at the outside hitter position as she adjusts to the college game, but I expect to see her competing for playing time early in her career. She has great size, athleticism and a ton of potential. We are excited that Alena has chosen to bring that potential to RMU. I expect Alena to really blossom in college when she can focus on just one sport."

Macomson, who plays her club volleyball for Biltmore Volleyball Club of Asheville, N.C., has collected multiple awards while competing for a highly-successful high-school program. West Henderson won the 2A state championship in 2008, was the 3A state runner-up in 2009 and was a state semifinalist in 2010 while compiling a very impressive three-year mark of 76-7. Macomson, a 6'1" middle hitter, was named All Western North Carolina and the Times-News Western North Carolina Player of the Year as a senior along with being named to the Carolina Region High Performance Team. She also earned all conference accolades in her junior and senior seasons and was a three-year starter and a four-year letterwinner at West Henderson.

Coach Starr on Macomson:

"Regan comes to us from very successful high school and club programs. She has competed nationally while with USA Volleyball High Performance, and that experience will only help her as she adjusts to the college game. Middle hitter is a very demanding position, especially for a freshman. I expect her to come in and compete for playing time right away, and she will help us try to fill the void left by Amanda Graham. This will be an important position for us next year, and I expect Regan to contribute to our success early on. She has great size and moves very well laterally. Her success will depend on how quickly she adjusts to the speed of the college game. I look for big things from her."

Robb is a 5'10" outside hitter who earned all-state third team honors as a senior. She also gathered all-region and all-area awards in both her junior and senior seasons and accumulated all-conference recognition in each of her final three high school seasons. Robb joins the Colonials out of Novi High School and plays club volleyball for Legacy Volleyball Center of Detroit, Mich. She comes to RMU as an accomplished student-athlete and plans to study education. Robb also comes from a volleyball family, with her older sister playing collegiately and her younger sister hoping to do the same.

Coach Starr on Robb:

"Erica comes to us from a volleyball family and a very competitive background. She is a six-rotation outside hitter who will help us out both offensively and defensively. She is very athletic, moves well, has solid ball control and plays a very steady game. I look for Erica to come in and compete for playing time immediately. She has all the tools to be a very good collegiate outside hitter. We are excited to get Erica into our program and look for her to have an impact on our program for years to come."

Sizemore, who also plays for Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club of Wilder, Ky., was honored by numerous different organizations during her interscholastic career. This past season she was selected Kentucky All State Team Honorable Mention and named to the Kentucky All "A" State Tournament Team, the Kentucky All "A" Ninth-Region All Tournament Team, the 36th-District All Tournament Team, and the All Northern Kentucky Girls Volleyball Coaches Association Conference Team.  She was co-captain for each of the past two years and was a starting varsity player for three years. The 5'10" outside/opposite hitter is also an accomplished student-athlete--Sizemore is an honor student who participates in National Honor Society, Pep Club, Foreign Language Club and Art Club and is also the Senior Class Secretary.

Coach Starr on Sizemore:

"Sydney comes to us as a versatile player who can help us out as an opposite, outside hitter and a middle hitter. She will add depth to all three positions and will compete for playing time right away. She has a good arm and hits a very heavy ball. She is competitive and will push our returning players for playing time. We are looking forward to Sydney being a big part of this program for the next four years."

Starr believes that his incoming class has the drive and talent necessary to continue the proud tradition of the Colonial volleyball program.

"They know what it takes to win, and I see a very bright future for Robert Morris volleyball," Starr said. "Together with Hannah Hoffman, these six players will play a big part in RMU volleyball getting back to the top of the Northeast Conference. I am very excited to get all these players in the gym and get the season started. This is not only the biggest class I have ever signed, it is also the most talented. I think the fans are going to be in for a big surprise when they see the talent we will be able to put on the floor in 2011 and beyond. Coupled with our returning class, who had a great spring season, the future is looking very good for RMU Volleyball!"