Box Score Bloomington, Ind. – Opening up the 2013 season on the road, the Robert Morris University volleyball team took on a formidable opponent in the form of the Big Ten's Indiana University on Friday evening.  With the exception of a few runs strung together by Indiana, the Colonials were able to remain competitive despite be swept by the Hoosiers in three sets; 25-13, 25-20, 25-18. 

Coming in to the first match of the season with four freshmen on the roster, two of them would be called upon right away.  Arden Fisher (Oakmont, Pa. / Riverview) and April Krivoniak (Greensburg, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) would each be in the starting rotation for the first set against the Hoosiers.  Krivoniak made her presence felt early with a block assist for the first point of the match.  Despite trading points early in the set, Robert Morris would soon find itself in a four-point hole, down 10-6.  The Colonials would battle back to remain within striking distance of Indiana but the squad could not string together a run of points to pull even.  In fact, Indiana would expand its lead to six points before RMU would try to stop the building momentum by calling a timeout with the score 16-10.  Out of the timeout, the Hoosiers would push their lead to eight points before the Colonials responded with two points of their own.  With the score 18-12, Indiana would finish out the set by a score of 25-13 while taking seven of the final eight points in the set.

The Hoosiers would quickly take the first three points of the second set before Robert Morris responded with two quick points of their own.  Again, Indiana would go on another run, this one consisting of four consecutive points before the Colonials would call a time out with the score 7-2.  RMU would pull within three points of Indiana but would have to call a second timeout in the set as the Hoosiers widened their lead to six points as the score stood at 17-11.   Down six, the Colonials were able to rally back to within three points, thanks in part to a service ace from Melissa Bograd (Lemont, Ill. / Lemont) that forced Indiana to call a timeout of their own with the score 21-18.  Despite trading points coming out of the timeout, Robert Morris would drop the second set by a score of 25-20.

After taking the court for the third set, the two combatants would trade points before the Colonials would hold a slim 3-2 advantage.  That lead would be shot-lived as Indiana would then take command and jump out to a four-point advantage, 8-4, forcing RMU to call a timeout.  Out of the timeout, Robert Morris would respond by taking the next three points as the score quickly became 8-7.  The one-point margin was the closest that the Colonials would get to Indiana as the Hoosiers responded with a four-point run to stretch the score to 12-7.  The deficit facing RMU continued to grow and when it hit seven points with the score 16-9, the Colonials called their second timeout of the set.  Despite trading points for the remainder of the set, Indiana closed out the match with a third set victory by the score of 25-18.

The blocking of RMU would stand up to that of Indiana as both squads recorded nine blocks.  The Colonials managed one more solo block than Indiana as Sydney Sizemore (Taylor Mill, Ky. / Holy Cross), Kristin Thompson (Monroe, Ohio / Bishop Fenwick), and Fisher all recorded an individual block.  Krivoniak and Thompson would each record four total blocks while the NEC's block leader from last season, Becky Jay (Parma, Ohio / Padua Franciscan) tallied three block assists.

Fisher would pace Robert Morris with five kills in the match while being one of just three Colonials to have double-digit attack attempts.  She would also lead the Colonials scoring a team-high 6.5 of Robert Morris' 25 points.

RMU will not have to wait long to return to action as the Colonials will hit the court at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow morning to take on Kent State in the second of three matches at the Indiana Invitational.