Smithfield, R.I. – Although they managed to force a fifth-set, the Robert Morris University could not complete the comeback and dropped a tough, 3-2 decision to Bryant (27-25, 21-25, 27-25, 23-25, 15-10) Sunday afternoon in the Chace Athletic Center.
 
With the loss, the Colonials (11-14, 5-4) dropped their first Northeast Conference (NEC) match since October 2. Bryant (15-13, 6-3) extended its conference match winning streak to three.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Lord posted her second consecutive double-double with a career-best and season individual match-high 21 kills, and added 14 digs and five blocks. For the second straight game, senior outside Arden Fisher recorded a double-double on 13 kills and 25 digs, and tallied two service aces and two blocks. Junior setter Brianna Frakes dished out 46 assists and chipped in four kills. Senior middle Leah Dunivan and sophomore middle Brianna Schmid paced the defense up front with six blocks apiece.
 
The two squads traded points to open the deciding set. RMU then went on a 4-1 run thanks to four straight Bulldogs attack errors, which led to a 7-6 advantage for the Colonials, and forced Bryant to call timeout. The Bulldogs scored the next two points to go up by one, but Robert Morris knotted the score at 8-8. The Colonials only managed to score two points through the remainder of the frame, however, as the Bulldogs captured the fifth set by the largest margin of the match.
 
The Colonials forced a fifth set with a gutsy 25-23 win in set four, as they trailed in the match, 2-1. RMU posted a team match-best 16 kills at a .371 percentage in the fourth frame.
 
RMU opened set three with momentum from the second set victory, and used a 6-2 streak to amass a 9-5 lead. The Colonials put together a similar run at the end of the frame to come from behind and take a 25-24 lead, but the Bulldogs scored the next three points to steal the set.
 
The Bulldogs led for much of the second set, but Robert Morris never quit. RMU trailed, 16-13, and then scored four of the next five points, including three kills from three different Colonials, to swing the momentum of the set and go ahead, 19-17. Bryant was forced to use two timeouts during a 5-1 Robert Morris run, but never managed to throw the Colonials off their game. Lord sealed the set with a kill to tie the match at one game apiece.
 
The first set was neck and neck. Bryant put together an early, 5-1 run to take a 10-4 lead, but Robert Morris responded with three straight points to cut the Bulldogs' advantage to three. The Colonials posted their own 5-1 scoring streak to pull within one, 18-17, but Bryant continued to pull away and remained in front of the score by a narrow margin. RMU tied the set, 25-25, on a kill from Krivoniak, but Bryant claimed the next two points to take an early 1-0 match lead.
 
Robert Morris returns to the Sewall Center this weekend for a 3 p.m. match against Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, Oct. 29 and a 3 p.m. start with Sacred Heart on Sunday, Oct. 30. Seniors Leah Dunivan, Arden Fisher and April Krivoniak will be honored following Sunday's match.
 
 
Top Performance
Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Lord recorded a career-high 21 kills in today's loss. Her 21 kills are the most recorded by an individual Colonials player in a match this season.
 
Trending
Senior Arden Fisher has posted a double-double in 18 of 24 matches played this season and has recorded double-digit digs in all but two matches on the year. Her streak of 11 matches with a double-double to start a season marks the longest season-opening streak in Robert Morris history dating back to 2003. She leads the Colonials in kills (278) and digs (461).
 
Success Under Starr
RMU's win over St. Francis Brooklyn marked head coach Dale Starr's 100th victory as head coach of the Robert Morris volleyball program. He is now one victory shy of his 200^th career win at the Division I level.
 
A Historic Run
Robert Morris qualified for its 17th consecutive NEC Tournament last year, extending the conference's longest active streak. In the last 17 seasons, the Colonials have posted a winning record in league play; the longest such streak of any NEC member, past or present. Over that time span, RMU has gone 157-39 in conference play.
 
 
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