Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University volleyball team opened Northeast Conference play on Saturday afternoon as they prevailed over the Bryant Bulldogs three sets to one (25-11, 18-25, 25-11, 25-18).

As a team, Robert Morris (5-11, 1-0 NEC) hit .264 as seniors Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) and Amanda Craig (Houston, Texas / St. Agnes Academy) recorded fourteen and thirteen kills, respectively.  Craig led RMU as she hit .500 (13 kills, 22 attempts) in the four-set match.  Sophomore Hannah Hoffman (Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa) assisted on 32 of the Colonials 43 kills.  Fellow sophomore Melissa Bograd (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont) contributed three of the team's nine service aces in the victory.  A third sophomore, Erica Robb (Novi, Mich. / Novi), made a match-high thirteen digs while Monger and Bograd each contributed with eleven and ten digs, respectively.  Robert Morris registered nine blocks and were led by sophomore Becky Jay (Parma, Ohio / Padua Franciscan) who contributed seven block assists.

In the opening set of the match, Robert Morris jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, a lead they would never relinquish.  Bryant would rally to tie the set at four before the Colonials would pull away.  RMU would embark on an 8-0 run with junior Alex Deines (Centennial, Colo. / Littleton) serving as she would collect two service aces during the points streak.  The eight-point advantage for the Colonials would remain in place until the Bulldogs pulled to within six with the score 17-11.  From that point, Robert Morris would close out the set on another 8-0 run to prevail 25-11.  In the set, the Colonials hit .320 with Monger, Jay, and Craig all hitting over .500.

The second set saw Bryant jump out to the early lead before the Colonials would rally to tie the game at six.  The Bulldogs would then rattle off the next six points to double up the Colonials 6-12.  Robert Morris would pull to within three at 11-14 and 15-18 before Bryant closed out the second set scoring seven of the final ten points for a 18-25 set victory.  Craig continuted her hot start to the match as she hit .571 in the second set.

Coming out of intermission, the two teams started the third set exchanging the first four points before Robert Morris pulled ahead.  The Colonials pulled ahead on an 8-4 run that saw them lead 10-6.  RMU then increased their lead to nine as it took six of the next seven points to lead 16-7.  Bryant would pull to within six points at 17-11 before the Colonials closed out the third set on another 8-0 run to lead the match two sets to one.  In the set, Craig continued to hit over .500 while Robb hit .667 and recorded seven digs.

The final set of the match saw back-and-forth action that saw the set tied five times with the lead exchanging hands twice.  With the score tied at seven, the Colonials would go on their fourth 8-0 run of the match to distance themselves from the Bulldogs.  Bryant would fight back to within three points at 15-12 before the teams exchanged points and the Colonials prevailed 25-18 for their first match win in conference play.

With her fourteen kills in the match, Monger surpassed 1,000 kills in her career.  She became the ninth Colonial in program history to do so.  Also, she became the second Colonial to ever register 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career.

"Lindsey has worked her tail off to become a better hitter as she has matured and she has always been a good defender." Head Coach Dale Starr said of Monger's performance today and of her career at Robert Morris.  Monger added, "It feels great; I can't take all the credit though cause it takes good passing and good setting to achieve a milestone like that."

With the NEC opener in the books, the Colonials look to carry their momentum as they travel to Connecticut for a pair of games next weekend.  Robert Morris plays Central Connecticut State on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. before continuing their trip by playing at Quinnipiac on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.