Moon Township, Pa. – In a battle of Northeast Conference (NEC) unbeatens, the
Robert Morris University volleyball team came out on the short end, falling to Long Island University Brooklyn in four sets this afternoon from the Charles L. Sewall Center.
Robert Morris (8-15, 6-1 NEC) and LIU Brooklyn (16-5, 7-0 NEC) each collected 12 total team blocks and over 70 digs on the afternoon.
The Colonials had three players with a team-high eight kills in sophomore outside hitter
Arden Fisher, senior middle blocker
Becky Jay, and junior middle blocker
Kristin Thompson. Jay's classmate
Sydney Sizemore added seven kills on a .278 hitting percentage.
Fisher was one of four RMU players with double-digit digs, leading the way with 22. Thompson paced the team with six block assists, while sophomore middle blocker
April Krivoniak added five stops (1 solo, 4 assist).
Jay finished the match with five block assists and moved into fourth place all-time in total blocks with 415, passing Janette Schneider (2003-06). The senior middle blocker is now five shy of tying Amanda Graham (2007-10) for the program record in block assists.
The Blackbirds and Colonials played an exciting first set, but LIU ultimately came out victorious by a 25-21 score. The visitors jumped out to a 17-7 advantage in the frame before RMU came storming back, pulling within one at 19-18 after a block from Jay and senior outside hitter
Erica Robb. However, the Blackbirds picked up six of the last nine points to take the game.
The Colonials responded with a 25-20 win in the second set. RMU only trailed at the beginning of the frame, opening up as much as a six-point advantage at 23-17. Robb tallied four kills on eight chances, while the Colonials stymied five LIU attack attempts in the stanza.
The third set was dominated by the Blackbirds, 25-12, as RMU couldn't recover from an early 8-1 hole.
The fourth and final set was more of the same, as LIU jumped out to an 8-2 advantage en route to a 25-16 win. Sizemore collected three kills in the frame.
Freshman setter
Brianna Frakes dished out a team-high 22 assists and collected 11 digs, picking up the fifth double-double of her career.
Robert Morris is back on the road next weekend as it travels to Fairleigh Dickinson and Sacred Heart. Opening serve for the match against the Knights is set for Saturday, Oct. 25 at 1:00 p.m. from Stratis Arena.
