Moon Township, Pa. – Sophomore outside hitter
Taylor Lord registered a double-double to help bolster the
Robert Morris University volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-14) victory over in-state rival Saint Francis U Saturday at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
The Colonials improved to 10-13 overall on the 2016 campaign, including 4-3 in league play, while the Red Flash dipped to 4-16 overall and 0-7 in the NEC.
RMU never trailed in the match, jumping out to leads of 3-0, 10-4 and 18-9 in the first set. Saint Francis U closed its deficit to 20-18 with an 8-2 surge, but senior middle blocker
Leah Dunivan stemmed the tide with a kill to give the Colonials a 21-18 advantage.
A pair of kills from Lord and another from senior outside hitter
Arden Fisher gave Robert Morris the 25-19 win in the first set.
In the second set, RMU opened with a 4-0 lead and took charge by outscoring SFU, 10-5, to close out the win. Lord registered four kills and 10 digs, while Fisher chipped in three kills and eight digs.
Robert Morris again jumped out to a 4-0 advantage in the third set thanks to a pair of kills from Lord and another from Dunivan, and the cushion swelled to 19-9 midway through the set thanks to a 9-2 run. Lord registered three kills, senior outside hitter
April Krivoniak added another and sophomore middle blocker
Brianna Schmid notched a pair of services.
Lord finished the afternoon with 14 kills, 15 digs, a pair of service aces and a .303 attack percentage to pace the RMU offense.
Fisher posted nine kills and a game-high 21 digs, Krivoniak compiled eight kills, four service aces and 14 digs and Schmid recorded four kills against no errors in eight total chances for a .500 attack percentage. Schmid also notched three service aces.
Junior setter
Brianna Frakes finished with 39 assists, her highest total in a three-set victory in 2016.
Saint Francis U was led by Breanna Opera, who finished with eight kills.
Robert Morris returns to action with its annual swing through New England, opening a two-game road trip Saturday, Oct. 22, with a 1:00 p.m. match at Central Connecticut. The Colonials will also square off with Bryant in Smithfield, R.I., Sunday Oct. 23 at 3:00 p.m.
Ace Hotel
RMU's nine service aces against SFU mark the second highest total the Colonials have posted in 2016, trailing only the 10 Robert Morris recorded in a 3-0 sweep against Morgan State (9/10/16).
