Box Score

LORETTO, Pa. – October 19, 2013 - The Robert Morris University volleyball team concluded its five-game road trip with an evening contest at Saint Francis U. on Saturday evening.  The Colonials took down their vaunted NEC rival in three sets; 25-23, 25-22, 25-15.

The victory was head coach Dale Starr's 200th collegiate win spanning his time at the Mississippi University for Women, McNeese State, and Robert Morris.

After exchanging the first six points of the opening set, Robert Morris (5-18, 4-3 NEC) would control the first set.  Robert Morris would take control of the set after the Colonials earned seven of a possible eight points to hold a five-point lead, 9-4.  Despite runs by the Saint Francis (2-18, 2-5 NEC), the Colonials refused to let the Red Flash tie the score as RMU claimed the set, 25-23.

The two teams would exchange the lead three times early in the second set before the Red Flash would take control of the lead with the score 5-4.  The Colonials would fall behind by as many as four points with the score 19-15 before battling back to take the lead with a five-point run.  With either team needing five points to claim the second set, the Colonials would earn five of the final seven points to walk away with a 25-22 set victory.

The Colonials took the first three points of the third set, but a four-point run by the Red Flash turned the lead over to Saint Francis, 4-3.  From there, the two teams would battle back and forth before a six-point run by RMU created a deficit too big for the Red Flash to overcome.  Shortly after breaking the set open, the Colonials added to their lead with a five-point run that made the score 19-9.  Robert Morris eventually took the third set by a score of 25-15 to earn the sweep of Saint Francis.

Robert Morris would hit .256 in the match as Arden Fisher (Oakmont, Pa. / Riverview) and Becky Jay (Parma, Ohio / Padua Franciscan) each recorded eight kills.  The middle blocker tandem of Jay and Kristin Thompson (Monroe, Ohio / Bishop Fenwick) combined to hit .478 over the three sets while accounting for over one-third of RMU's kills.  The Colonials also generated offense directly off of the serve as they recorded six aces.

Defensively, Melissa Bograd (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont) and Fisher each recorded a match-high 12 digs while April Krivoniak (Greensburg, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) contributed ten digs.  Along the net, Thompson had a hand in three of Robert Morris' six blocks, two of which were solo blocks.

The Colonials return home to face Bryant on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 1:00 p.m.  The two teams met on Oct. 13 at Bryant where Robert Morris swept the Bulldogs on their own court.