Baltimore, Md. – After falling to Winthrop in five sets on day one, the Robert Morris University volleyball team bounced back to claim victory over Morgan State, 3-0, and UMBC, 3-2, on the second and final day of action at the Maddie Bingaman Memorial Tournament, hosted by UMBC.

In the first match of the day against the Morgan State (0-9) Bears, senior outside hitter Arden Fisher led Robert Morris (6-4) with 14 kills at a season-high .387 hitting percentage, 17 digs, one ace and one block assist. Sophomore libero Allie Yurkovich joined her in double-digit digs with 10. Sophomore middle blocker Brianna Schmid added seven kills and a career-high-tying three service aces.

RMU fell behind, 4-3, to open the third set, but went on a 7-1 run to a 13-7 lead. With the Colonials in front, 15-9, Robert Morris scored 10 of the next 12 points to claim the frame and the match.

Schmid broke an 8-8 tie in set two with a kill and capped a seven-point streak with another slam to help the Colonials to a 15-8 advantage in the second frame.

Robert Morris used a seven-point run to go up, 15-10, and gain momentum heading into sets two and three following a two-point first frame.

In a five-set victory over UMBC (7-3), Fisher extended her match streak with a double-double to nine, as she recorded 16 kills and 23 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Lord posted her sixth double-double in nine appearances with 11 kills and a team-best 25 digs. Schmid tallied 10 kills and a season-high six block assists against the Retrievers. Sophomore Liz Campbell and junior Brianna Frakes combined for 42 assists.

Similar to Robert Morris' match against Winthrop yesterday, the Colonials captured a 2-0 match lead, but allowed the opposing team to push back. This time, however, the final score went in favor of RMU.

Robert Morris opened the fifth set with the first five points, including kills from Campbell, senior opposite April Krivoniak, senior middle blocker Leah Dunivan, and Fisher. The Retrievers started to gain momentum, but the Colonials maintained control and went ahead, 8-3, which forced UMBC to call timeout.

Out of the break, the Retrievers began to rally and scored the next four points to cut the Colonials' lead to one, but back-to-back errors on UMBC and a Frakes kill put RMU back in front by four, 11-7.

The Retrievers put together a 6-2 run to tie the fifth set at 13, but a kill from Lord put the Colonials back up by one. UMBC scored the next two points to take a 15-14 lead. Robert Morris strategically used a timeout, which helped force a Retrievers service error and return the ball to the RMU service line. Lord added another kill to put the Colonials in match-point position, and a subsequent UMBC error helped Robert Morris to victory.

RMU returns to the Sewall Center on Tuesday, Sept. 13 to take on Youngstown State at 6 p.m.
 
 
TRENDING
Senior Arden Fisher has posted double-doubles in all nine matches played on the season thus far. Her streak of nine matches with a double-double to start a season marks the longest season-opening streak  in Robert Morris history since Megan Bell in 2004 (seven). Fisher was named Molten/NEC Player of the Week, and currently leads all of NCAA Division I in digs per set (6.16).
 
MILESTONE WATCH
Head coach Dale Starr is two wins shy of his 100^th career victory as head coach of the Robert Morris volleyball program, and six victories short of his 200^th career win at the Division I level.

 
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