Brooklyn, N.Y. – In its regular-season finale, the Robert Morris University volleyball team fell to LIU Brooklyn, 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-18, 26-24), Sunday evening in the Steinberg Wellness Center.
 
The Colonials conclude the 2016 season 14-16 overall and 8-6 in Northeast Conference (NEC) action. Over the last 18 seasons, RMU has posted a winning record in conference play, which stands as the longest such streak of any NEC member, past or present.
 
Seniors Arden Fisher and April Krivoniak posted double-doubles in their final match. Each recorded 15 kills, a season high for Krivoniak, while Fisher led the defense with 29 digs, and Krivoniak turned in 18 digs. Fisher also tabbed a team-leading three aces. Sophomores Taylor Lord and Allie Yurkovich posted double-digit digs, and fellow second-year Brianna Schmid paced the Colonials with four blocks. Senior Leah Dunivan posted seven kills, two blocks, two digs and one assist. Junior setter Brianna Frakes dealt 45 assists.
 
Early in the fourth set, LIU Brooklyn maintained a steady lead. Then RMU went on a 5-1 run that ended with a wise play from Frakes, who found an wide open spot in the middle of the floor, to put the Colonials up by one, 12-11. The teams battled for points back and forth, and the Blackbirds earned a three-point edge, 22-19, late in the set. The Colonials recorded back-to-back kills to tie it, 23-23, and the score tied once more at 24 before the Blackbirds clinched the match with consecutive kills to win set four, 26-24.
 
LIU Brooklyn set the tone early in the third. They earned the first point of the frame on a kill and rolled to a 7-3 lead. The Blackbirds pushed for points all the way to a 14-8 advantage, and forced the Colonials to take a timeout. After the break, RMU went to work to combat LIU's hot start to the set, and reduced the LIU lead to five, 19-14, but couldn't complete the comeback. The Blackbirds took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-18 win in set three.
 
Robert Morris led by as many as three points in the second set, but LIU Brooklyn responded to tie it, 7-7. The Colonials broke a 9-9 tie and kept the momentum rolling with a three-point run, capped by a kill from Lord, to take a 12-9 lead. A Krivoniak kill helped the Colonials to their largest lead of the frame, 14-10, and forced the Blackbirds to use a timeout.
 
Back-to-back aces from Fisher lit a fire under the Colonials, and they put together a 6-2 run to capture an eight-point lead, before the Blackbirds used their second timeout of the set. LIU earned four of the next five points and cut the Robert Morris advantage to three, but Krivoniak put the Colonials back on track with a crucial kill. LIU's Alex Larsen tied the set, 22-22, with a big, top-spin serve for an ace, but RMU earned three of the next four points to win set two, 25-23, and tie the match, 1-1.
 
After the teams traded points back and forth early in the first set, the Blackbirds gained momentum following back-to-back aces, which put them up by two, 8-6. The Colonials forced LIU out of position and Lord capitalized with a kill to a wide open spot to tie the frame, 10-10. RMU started to pull away after a block from Dunivan and Fisher, then a kill from Fisher, and LIU called timeout as they trailed the Colonials, 16-13.
 
The Blackbirds went on a 4-1 run to tie it at 17-17, and neither team led by more than one point until Dunivan and Fisher combined for another game-changing block that put RMU on top, 23-21. But LIU claimed the next three points and stole a 24-23 lead. LIU's Alex Larsen secured set one for the Blackbirds, 26-24, with her third ace of the opening set.
 
Robert Morris graduates seniors Leah Dunivan, Arden Fisher, and April Krivoniak, and returns 10 varsity letter winners in 2017. The Colonials also welcome four newcomers next season.
 
 
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 (598). 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 21 of 28 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 (356) and digs (598).
 
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
In the last 18 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 159-42 in conference play.
 
 
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