Box Score

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – November 2, 2013 - The Robert Morris University volleyball team took to the court for its only game of the weekend as the Colonials hosted in-state conference rival Saint Francis on Saturday evening.  It took RMU four sets, but the Colonials took down the Red Flash; 19-25, 25-12, 25-22, 25-16.

Entering the match needing just eight kills to reach 1,000 career digs, Melissa Bograd (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont) recorded 16 digs for Robert Morris (7-19, 6-4 NEC) in the victory over Saint Francis (3-20, 3-7 NEC).  Bograd became just the eighth student-athlete in program history to record 1,000 career digs and the first since Lindsey Monger accomplished the feat last season.

The Colonials would drop the first set, 19-25, as the Red Flash recorded 3.5 total blocks while RMU was unable to block a single attack attempt from Saint Francis.  Despite the close score, the Red Flash would lead the entire set as Robert Morris was unable to recover from Saint Francis earning the first three points of the set.  Kristin Thompson (Monroe, Ohio / Bishop Fenwick) and Arden Fisher (Oakmont, Pa. / Riverview) each recorded four kills for Robert Morris in the opening frame.

The second set was a reversal of fortunes for Robert Morris as the Colonials hit .414 in the set while holding the Red Flash to a negative hitting percentage.  This time around it was RMU that held Saint Francis without a block in the second set as the Colonials recorded five blocks at the net.  The Colonials would lead wire-to-wire after taking the first four points of the set and breaking the score wide open with a four-point run to create an 11-2 lead.  RMU closed out the set with the final three points that ended with a tandem block by Alena Esposito (Coraopolis, Pa. / Montour) and Becky Jay (Parma, Ohio / Padua Franciscan) that made the score 25-12.  Thompson would continue to have the hot hand offensively as she recorded a set-high five kills.  After recording four digs in the first set, Bograd would pick up her 1,000th dig in the late stages of the second set as she finished with five digs in the second frame.

The two teams would make the third set the tightest set of the evening as they shared the lead ten times that included three lead changes before Robert Morris escaped with a 25-22 set victory.  Saint Francis would hold the lead early in the set before RMU took it for a single point before it was regained by the Red Flash with the score 5-6.  Saint Francis would proceed to take five of a possible six points to dig a four-point deficit for the Colonials.  RMU would battle back with a four-point run and proceed to take the lead with the score 13-12.  The Colonials were able to fend off three rallies where the score was tied before taking four of the final five points in the set.  Following the lead of her fellow middle blocker, Jay would lead the RMU attack in the third set as she recorded five kills.

The final set of the even would be controlled by the Colonials despite allowing Saint Francis to take the first point in the set.  After allowing the first point to slip away, Robert Morris would respond with the next three points to take the lead that it would control for the remainder of the set.  RMU would put together two more three-point runs to keep the Red Flash at bay before the Colonials earned the final two points of the set to end the set with a score of 25-16.  Erica Robb (Novi, Mich. / Novi) picked up five kills in the final set, one of which represented the final point in the match.

The middle blocker rotation of Jay and Thompson would combine to hit .400 with 19 kills in the match.  Jay led the RMU defense at the net, having a hand in five of the team's nine blocks.  Robb would record a team-high 11 kills while also recording 15 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.

Robert Morris will hit the road for the final time in the regular season with a two-game trip to Brooklyn, N.Y.  The Colonials will take on St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. before finishing the trip east with a match against LIU Brooklyn on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.  RMU has seen each of these teams once already this season; taking down St. Francis Brooklyn in four sets while losing to LIU Brooklyn in three sets.