Brooklyn, N.Y. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team kicked off its final road trip of the regular season with a 3-1 win over St. Francis Brooklyn Saturday afternoon in the Genovesi Center.
 
RMU (14-15, 8-5) remains in the hunt for a 2016 Northeast Conference Tournament berth.
 
Three Colonials posted double-digit kills. Following a career-high 10-block performance at Saint Francis U last weekend, senior Leah Dunivan followed up with a career-best 15 kills in today's win. Senior Arden Fisher racked up 17 kills and 21 digs to lead the team in both categories for her fourth double-double in six matches. Sophomore Taylor Lord tabbed a double-double with 12 kills and 17 digs, and matched her career-high with four of the Colonials' nine aces. Junior setter Brianna Frakes dished out 47 assists.
 
St. Francis Brooklyn opened set four with momentum stemming from its third set win, but Robert Morris went ahead, 6-4, early. The Terriers tied it up at six-all, then secured a 7-6 lead with a block. The squads traded leads back and forth until Fisher broke the monotony with a huge swing for a kill to tie the score, 11-11. RMU scored three straight to take a two-point lead and caused SFBK to take a timeout.
 
RMU used a 4-1 run to take a 17-12 lead and continued to push for points. The Colonials won the race to 20 and went up, 21-15, on a block from Lord and sophomore Brianna Schmid. Robert Morris claimed three of the last four points of the set, capped by Dunivan's 15^th kill, to claim the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
 
Robert Morris amassed an early 9-3 advantage to start the third set, but the Terriers kept the Colonials on their toes and charged to a 17-15 lead. RMU never quit, however, and managed to tie it up, 19-19. The score tied two more times before St. Francis Brooklyn battled to a 25-23 win to force set four.
 
The Terriers tested the Colonials to start set two, and opened the frame on an 8-2 run. A cross-court shot from Lord helped RMU start to rally, and they took the next two points to cut St. Francis Brooklyn's lead to four, but the Terriers pushed back and went up by six once again.
 
The Colonials patiently chipped away at the Terriers lead, and Lord tied it at 13 with a shot to the ten-foot line. The squads went point for point until the RMU offense erupted and continued to swing all the way to a 19-19 tie. A long rally ended with a St. Francis Brooklyn kill to knot the score at 23. A marathon set two went in favor of RMU, 32-30.
 
RMU opened set one on a 7-2 tear and forced the Terriers to take an early timeout. St. Francis Brooklyn's Domenique Gerard got a quick kill for St. Francis Brooklyn coming out of the break, but Dunivan responded with a big swing to keep the momentum in favor of the Colonials. Robert Morris extended its lead to nine points on a Krivoniak kill, and St. Francis Brooklyn took another break to regroup. RMU exposed the SFBK defense early and continuously placed the ball in the open back corners to keep rolling on offense. The Colonials hit at an efficient .481 to help capture set one, 25-12.
 
Robert Morris concludes the regular season on Sunday, Nov. 13 versus LIU Brooklyn at 3 p.m.
 
 
The Final Countdown
Robert Morris faces a must-win situation in tomorrow's regular-season finale at LIU Brooklyn for a chance to earn a spot in the 2016 Northeast Conference Tournament.
 
National Radar
Senior Arden Fisher currently ranks No. 11 in the nation in digs per set (5.27) after spending the first two weeks at number one, and 11th in total digs (548). She is the only top-25 national digs leader that plays at the outside hitter position. As a team, Robert Morris ranks 13th in the nation in digs per set (17.38) and leads the NEC in the same category.
 
Trending
Senior Arden Fisher has posted a double-double in 20 of 27 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 (341) and digs (569).
 
Success Under Starr
The Colonials posted their best overall winning percentage (.594) under head coach Dale Starr last season. Starr claimed his 100^th victory as head coach of the Robert Morris volleyball program with a win against St. Francis Brooklyn on Oct. 8, and his 200^th career win overall at the Division I level on Oct. 29 versus FDU.
 
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 159-41 in conference play.
 
 
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