Moon Township, Pa. – The Bryant Bulldogs entered today's match tied for the Northeast Conference lead, but are now even with the Robert Morris University volleyball team for second place in the league race as the Colonials defeated the Bulldogs, 3-2 (25-15, 23-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-9), Saturday evening in the Charles L. Sewall Center.
 
The Colonials (16-12, 10-3 NEC) put together a season best four-match winning streak, and in doing so, stopped short Bryant's (19-12, 10-3 NEC) recent three-win run.
 
Junior Arden Fisher earned her 39^th career double-double, as she led the Colonials with 15 kills and 28 digs. Freshman Taylor Lord tabbed her third straight double-double with 11 kills and a career-high 26 digs. Senior Kristin Thompson and junior Leah Dunivan joined them in double-digit kills with 13 and 14, respectively, a career high mark for Dunivan. Thompson posted a hitting percentage above .300 for the sixth time in the last seven matches. Sophomore setter Brianna Frakes matched a career-high 54 assists and added a career-best 16 digs to account for RMU's third double-double on the evening.
 

Robert Morris had a handle on sets one and three, and nearly ended the match in the fourth, but the Bulldogs battled back and answered a 6-1 Colonials run and claimed six of the next seven points coming out of their own timeout to take an 18-15 lead over the home team. The squads traded points back and forth until Bryant's Julia Flynn posted back-to-back kills to close the fourth frame and force a fifth.
 
The Colonials opened the deciding set with an early 6-3 lead, but Bryant kept it close until RMU secured an 11-6 advantage on a Thompson kill. The Bulldogs called timeout in the hopes of gaining momentum similar to that after the break in the fourth stanza, but Robert Morris simply could not be stopped in the final set. 13 of the Colonials' 15 points in set five were earned off of kills and RMU committed no attack errors in the last frame. Aside from one tie in set five, RMU led the entire way.
 
As a team, the Colonials recorded a season-high 101 digs and fell just short of setting new season bests with eight service aces and 12 total blocks. Thompson led the solid blocking effort for RMU with seven total stuffs (one solo, six assists).

 
Robert Morris returns to the Sewall Center for its final regular season match on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. against Central Connecticut State. Thompson will be honored in a Senior Day ceremony after the match.
 
 
On a Roll
Freshman Taylor Lord has recorded four double-doubles in five matches and has posted double-digit kills in her last five outings.
 
Strive for Five
The Colonials are 3-1 in five-set matches this season.
 
Taking Down the Top Dogs
The Bryant Bulldogs entered today's match tied with LIU Brooklyn for first place in the NEC standings. Robert Morris rebounded from a 1-3 loss to Bryant on the road earlier this season to claim today's victory over the top conference contender.
 
Perfect 10
For the fifth time in six seasons under head coach Dale Starr, the Robert Morris Colonials have earned 10 or more wins in conference action. Starr has led the Colonials to six consecutive winning records in Northeast Conference action, the longest such streak of any NEC member, past or present.
 
 
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