Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University volleyball team continued their unbeaten streak in Northeast Conference play as the prevailed victorious over the Saint Francis Red Flash on Wednesday evening.  The Colonials moved to 4-0 early in conference play after the five-set victory with scores of 25-19, 17-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-11.

The five-set match allowed for the Colonials' defensive efforts to shine on a night where both teams were playing for Breast Cancer Awareness as a part of the Northeast Conference's "Dig Pink" initiative.  While the stats would show that the Colonials  were out-hit and out-dug, the serving and blocking prowess that led the team to victory.

Leading the charge for the Colonials was senior Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) who recorded her tenth double-double of the season as she led the team fourteen kills and sixteen digs.  Also contributing to the Robert Morris victory was sophomore Hannah Hoffman (Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa) who dished out 25 assists on the team's 47 kills.  Four Colonials, including Hoffman, each contributed a service ace to the cause.  Senior Amanda Craig (Houston, Texas / St. Agnes Academy) provided the team's only solo block while sophomore Becky Jay (Parma, Ohio / Padua Franciscan) continued to build upon her Molten/NEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week award as she assisted on seven of the squad's twelve blocks.

To open the match, Robert Morris recorded the first two points before allowing Saint Francis to obtain the next two.  The Red Flash would establish their own two-point lead with the score 5-7 before the Colonials would go on a four-point run sparked by sophomore Sydney Sizemore (Taylor Mill Ky. / Holy Cross) to establish a lead they would never relinquish.  The two-point advantage for the Colonials would slowly expand to an eight-point advantage with the score 21-13.  The Red Flash rattled of a pair of three-point run to bring the score to within four points with the score 23-19.  A pair of kills by the Colonials finished off the set with the score 25-19.  In the set, the Colonials hit .290 as Sizemore carried the team converting six of her seven kill attempts for an .857 hitting percentage.

The second set saw Robert Morris out-hit by the Red Flash even as the two teams started of exchanging the first twelve points.  A 4-1 run gave the Colonials a brief three-point lead before Saint Francis went on a run scoring eight of the next ten points to take the lead 12-15.  Outscoring the Colonials by a 2:1 ratio and with the aid of a five-point run, the Red Flash closed out the second set by a score of 17-25.

Just like the first set, the third set saw Robert Morris open up an early advantage as it scored the first three points.  Unlike the first set though, RMU would never let Saint Francis tie the set, let alone hold a lead.  The Red Flash pulled to within a point when the score was 3-2, but the Colonials quickly rattled off a run that saw them score seven of the next eight point to quickly build a seven-point advantage.  Both teams would exchange points for the rest of the set as the Colonials won 25-19.  The front-court of the Robert Morris - led by Jay, Monger, and freshman Kristin Thompson (Monroe, Ohio / Bishop Fenwick) - recorded four blocks in the set while holding the Saint Francis attack to a .029 hitting percentage that also included nine errors by the Red Flash.

The fourth set saw five lead changes as Robert Morris tried to close out the match.  Again, the two teams battled back-and-forth early in the set as the score was tied at nine.  From there, Saint Francis would slowly pull ahead of the Colonials and establish a five-point lead with the score 13-18.  Robert Morris would rally to within a point thanks to a 6-2 run to make the score 19-20.  The Red Flash quickly regained their advantage and won the set 22-25.

In the decisive fifth set, Robert Morris quickly opened with a two-point advantage.  A three-point run by Saint Francis gave them their only lead of the set with the score 3-4.  A kill from Monger and a service ace from sophomore Melissa Bograd (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont) returned the lead to the Colonials.  The Red Flash would fight to tie the set at seven before consecutive points, including a service ace by senior Andrea Catucci (Davidsonville, Md. / Archbishop Spalding), gave RMU the lead it would hold for the rest of the set.  With the score 11-9 Craig came up clutch for the Colonials as she blocked a Red Flash kill attempt and effectively sent the team on a 4-2 run to close out the match.  Following the footsteps of Craig, a duo of Colonials - Monger and Thompson - teamed up to snuff out another kill attempt by Saint Francis and gave the Colonials a 15-11 set victory.

The Colonials will continue conference play at home this weekend as they are set to host a pair of Brooklyn schools.  On Saturday, Robert Morris will play host to St. Francis (N.Y.) at 1:00 p.m. before rival LIU-Brooklyn comes to the Charles L. Sewall Center on Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. serve.