Oakland, Mich. – The
Robert Morris University volleyball team closed out the non-conference tournament slate of its schedule with defeats to Oakland and Bowling Green today at the Golden Grizzly Invite.
Robert Morris (1-13, 0-0 NEC) opened up the day with a match against the invitational host Oakland (8-5, 0-0 Horizon). Despite battling back and taking the third set, the Colonials ultimately fell in four frames.
Senior outside hitter
Erica Robb tallied the 15th double-double of her career with 12 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore middle blocker
April Krivoniak (12 kills) and freshman setter
Brianna Frakes (41 assists) were each one dig away from joining Robb in the double-double club.
The first and second set went the way of the Golden Grizzlies by scores of 25-14 and 25-22. Robb and Krivoniak each had five kills on eight attempts in the second frame, while sophomore middle blocker
Leah Dunivan converted on all three of her attacks.
RMU opened up the third set on a 4-1 run thanks to two kills and a service ace from Krivoniak. Oakland eventually tied it up at eight, which set off an entertaining back-and-forth affair that featured a kill and solo block from Dunivan and a kill from senior middle blocker
Becky Jay.
With the set all knotted up at 21, the Colonials went on a mini-run with three straight points to set up a set point. The Golden Grizzlies stopped the first set point after a timeout and forced RMU to burn one of its own when they tied it up at 24. However, the Colonials would end all thoughts of an Oakland comeback in the frame as Dunivan and Robb tallied back-to-back kills to give RMU the win.
The Golden Grizzlies would bounce back in the fourth set, 25-19, to win the match. Jay led the Colonials with three kills in the frame.
Senior libero
Melissa Bograd led RMU with 21 digs, while sophomore outside hitter
Arden Fisher added 17.
The nightcap saw the Colonials fall to Bowling Green (3-9, 0-0 MAC) in a five-set heartbreaker.
Fisher collected a double-double for RMU with 11 kills and 12 digs. Jay led the Colonials with 19 kills, while Bograd paced the team in digs with 27.
After the Falcons took the first set, 25-21, RMU bounced back to claim the second and third frames.
The Colonials put together one of their most dominant efforts of the season in the second set, winning it 25-15.
RMU opened up the frame on a 10-2 run thanks to three Jay kills, but Bowling Green battled back to make it 12-8. The Colonials responded with a 10-3 burst as junior middle blocker
Kristin Thompson notched two kills, and eventually finished it off with two Fisher kills and one more from Jay.
In the third set, RMU eventually broke through at 29-27 after ties at points 22 through 27. Jay and Fisher each had five kills in the frame, while Krivoniak added four.
The Falcons forced a fifth set after winning 25-20 in the fourth frame. Jay had five kills for the third straight set.
Bowling Green gained the match win by claiming the fifth set, 15-8.
Frakes dished out a career-high 48 assists in the loss. Thompson (11) and Krivoniak each tallied double-digit kills.
Jay was named to the All-Tournament Team after the conclusion of the match between UC-Irvine and Oakland. The senior collected 34 kills, four solo blocks, and six block assists in three matches.
Robert Morris opens up Northeast Conference (NEC) play next weekend as it hosts Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, Sept. 27. The match between the Colonials and Knights is set for a 1:00 p.m. start from the Charles L. Sewall Center.
