Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team clinched its spot in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament this afternoon, as the Colonials battled back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to defeat Bryant University in five sets from the Charles L. Sewall Center.

In three weeks, Robert Morris (12-15, 10-1 NEC) will be playing in its 16th consecutive NEC Tournament, extending the conference's longest active streak. Bryant (9-21, 4-6 NEC) meanwhile is in a tie with Central Connecticut State for fourth in the NEC, although the Blue Devils currently hold the tiebreaker for the final postseason spot.

Sophomore outside hitter Arden Fisher registered a double-double for the second straight match, tallying 11 kills and 18 digs on the afternoon. Her 11 kills were matched by senior outside hitter Alena Esposito, topping her previous one-day-old career-high.

Setters Hannah Hoffman and Brianna Frakes combined for 40 assists, dishing out 22 and 18, respectively.

Defensively, the middle blocker duo of Becky Jay and Kristin Thompson collected 12 blocks, with both players stopping six attack attempts apiece. Senior libero Melissa Bograd led the Colonials in digs with 21.

The Bulldogs won the first set, 25-19, as they held RMU to a negative hitting percentage in the frame.

The Colonials would bounce back in the second stanza with a 25-16 victory. Esposito converted on all three of her swings in the set, while Fisher and senior outside hitter Sydney Sizemore each hit over a .400 clip with three kills.

It was Bryant who came out firing following the customary break between the second and third frames, as the Bulldogs earned a 25-15 win in the middle set.

RMU continued to show resilience however, forcing a fifth set with a 25-20 in the fourth stanza. Bograd collected nine digs in the frame, while Esposito starred offensively with four kills on a .375 hitting percentage.

The deciding stanza was a back-and-forth affair early, before a five-point rally helped push the Colonials to a 15-12 victory.

Sizemore opened up the frame with a kill, but a service error by senior outside hitter Erica Robb and a kill pushed Bryant in front at 2-1. The teams then traded kills as Fisher and Thompson's swings were off-set by two points for the Bulldogs. An attack error on the sophomore made it 5-3 for the visitors, but she responded with a kill for the next point. A block by Esposito and Thompson tied things up again at five.

Another back-and-forth rally followed the block as Bryant tallied two kills, while RMU received one from Esposito and an attack error from the Bulldogs. That seemed to be the theme for the middle portion of the frame, as the aforementioned five-point rally for the Colonials started with three straight Bryant errors before Jay and Esposito combined for a block. Another attack error set the score at 11-7 RMU, forcing the Bulldogs to burn their last timeout of the set.

Sizemore missed on two of her swings to bring Bryant within two; however, Robb stopped the bleeding with a kill. The Bulldogs responded with two kills to cut the Colonial lead to one, but a kill from Jay made it 13-11.

Bryant picked up another point to inch closer, but kills from Sizemore and Esposito sealed the match for RMU.

The Colonials are now 4-0 in five-set conference matches this season after not playing a single one in NEC play last season.

Robert Morris closes out the home slate of its regular-season schedule on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 3:00 p.m. against in-state rival Saint Francis U. The match is this season's Dig Pink Match, which serves as a conference-wide initiative to promote breast cancer awareness. After its conclusion, the Colonials will honor the careers of seven seniors: Melissa Bograd, Alena Esposito, Hannah Hoffman, Becky Jay, Erica Robb, Sydney Sizemore, and Breanna Surgot.