Match #1 – Saturday, October 18 – 3:00 PM
Robert Morris vs. St. Francis Brooklyn (2-19, 0-5 NEC)
Charles L. Sewall Center – Moon Township, Pa. Against the Terriers – Robert Morris has dominated St. Francis Brooklyn in its history, winning 30 of 31 matches against the Terriers. The Colonials' lone loss to SFC came on Oct. 16, 1994 in four sets, but they got revenge in the NEC Tournament with a four-set victory of their own. RMU swept the Terriers last season in a pair of four-set wins behind 27 kills, 20 digs, and five block assists from
April Krivoniak.
Scouting St. Francis Brooklyn – The Terriers were picked eighth in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll and come into this weekend with an overall record of 2-19, both of those victories coming outside the conference against Quinnipiac and NJIT. Outside hitters Domenique Gerard and Brooke Haliscak are SFC's main contributors offensively with 127 and 126 kills, respectively. Both of the Terriers' primary setters have dished out triple-digit assists with junior Kelly O'Halloran at 418 and sophomore Alexa Caporuscio at 171. Defensively, SFC is led by senior outside hitter Ali Long with 180 digs and junior middle hitter Maggie Niu with 38 blocks (6 solo, 32 assist).
Match #2 – Sunday, October 19 – 1:00 PM
Robert Morris vs. LIU Brooklyn (14-5, 5-0 NEC)
Charles L. Sewall Center – Moon Township, Pa. Against the Blackbirds – Robert Morris holds a slight 20-18 edge historically against LIU Brooklyn, but the Blackbirds have won seven straight matches against the Colonials. RMU's last win over LIU came on Sept. 24, 2011 in four sets as
Erica Robb registered a double-double with 18 kills and 14 digs and Hannah Vieth added 14 kills on a .632 hitting percentage with seven blocks (1 solo, 6 assist).
Scouting LIU Brooklyn – Coming off two consecutive NEC Tournament championships, the Blackbirds were picked first in the conference's preseason coaches' poll, earning all seven possible first-place votes. LIU Brooklyn has collected some big wins this season, knocking off No. 25 Michigan State and Alabama in five sets. Offensively, the Blackbirds are paced by the two-time reigning NEC Player of the Year, Annika Foit. Foit has collected 306 kills this season, while her fellow outside hitter Tamar Ignjic has tallied 282 kills in her junior campaign. Assisting those two is senior setter Vera Djuric, who has 726 helpers on the season. Junior libero Adriana Vinas Joy has been LIU's catalyst defensively with 330 digs, while middle blockers Nicole Okeke and Mengdi Zhao have stopped 64 (7 solo, 57 assist) and 50 (3 solo, 47 assist) attacks respectively.
On to the Next One – Robert Morris leaves the comforts of The Chuck again next weekend as it travels to Fairleigh Dickinson and Sacred Heart in rematches of the Colonials' conference openers. RMU defeated both the Knights and Pioneers in three sets behind balanced efforts in both matches. Against FDU, the Colonials had four players with either eight or nine kills and two with double-digit points. The match against SHU featured four players between six and nine kills, with just one tallying double-digit points.
What More Can We Say? – Become a fan of the Colonials on Facebook by searching for the "Robert Morris Volleyball" page. Fans can also follow the Colonials on Twitter
@RMUVolleyball to get updates on the team throughout the season.
Brooklyn's Finest –
April Krivoniak paced Robert Morris against St. Francis Brooklyn last season, tallying 27 kills on a .345 hitting percentage, with 20 digs, four service aces, and five block assists.
Someone who has had success against both the Terriers and LIU-Brooklyn is
Hannah Hoffman. The senior setter has dished out 239 assists and collected 42 digs against SFC, while adding 24 kills on a .469 hitting percentage. In eight matches against the Blackbirds, Hoffman has 250 helpers, 54 digs, and 10 block assists.
Defensively against LIU,
Becky Jay has led the charge with 26 blocks (1 solo, 25 assist). She also has tallied 37 kills, 23 of which came in three meetings last year.
Hard Block Life –
Becky Jay became the fifth player in program history to reach 400 total blocks as she collected six this past weekend against Saint Francis U. and NJIT. Jay joins Kristie Tuxford (460), Amanda Graham (438), Hannah Veith (422), and Janette Schneider (414) as those who have reached that mark.
With three block assists on Wednesday against Duquesne, Jay tied Vieth (342) for second place all-time in that category. Graham is the program's leader in block assists with 358.
Can't Knock the Hustle – The Colonials have hit their stride defensively since entering conference play, leading the NEC in blocks per set (2.67), total blocks (56.0), and total digs (386). Individually,
Leah Dunivan paces the conference in blocks per set (1.29) while
Melissa Bograd is fourth in digs per set (4.57).
And the Winner Is… – Prior to a loss at Duquesne on Wednesday, Robert Morris had won four consecutive matches in five sets from Oct. 4 to Oct. 11. The Colonials last won four five-set matches in 2010, but have never won four consecutive five-set games until this season.
La Familia – Robert Morris head coach
Dale Starr will be able to lean on a strong senior class in 2014, as his roster features seven fourth-year players. This senior class is the largest Starr has had during his tenure with the Colonials, surpassing the 2010 team which featured five seniors.
Best of Both Worlds – Sophomore middle blocker
April Krivoniak enjoyed a fine rookie season with 229 kills, 54 total blocks, and a .229 hitting percentage, but she might have been just as impressive in her
other sport. As a thrower on the Robert Morris track & field team, Krivoniak finished third at the NEC Outdoor Championships in the shot put with a throw of 12.69 meters (41'7.75"), which earned herself All-NEC Rookie Team accolades.
