Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team secured an early lead with a win in set one, but ultimately fell in five games to Central Connecticut State in a Northeast Conference-opening match on Saturday afternoon in the Sewall Center.
 
This is the first loss for the Colonials (6-9, 0-1) in a NEC opener since 2007.
 
Three Colonials recorded double-doubles in the five-set affair. Senior Arden Fisher recorded a season-high 20 kills and led the defense with 24 digs. She added two service aces and three total blocks. Sophomore Taylor Lord posted a season-best 17 kills and racked up 22 digs. She also tallied two aces and three stuffs. Senior April Krivoniak tabbed a season-high 12 kills at a .320 clip, her best hitting percentage on the year, and 16 digs.
 
Robert Morris' 64 kills and 58 assists mark season highs for the squad.

 
Trailing 2-1 in the match, Robert Morris forced a fifth set, but Central Connecticut (6-7, 1-0) opened the final frame on an impressive 9-0 run and never looked back. The Colonials remained poised and answered with a 7-1 run, capped by three consecutive blocks by senior middle Leah Dunivan and company. Fisher brought Robert Morris within one at 13-12, and again at 14-13, as she accounted for three of the Colonials final four points of the set, but it was CCSU sophomore Raquel Quirarte who put down the match-winning slam on her eleventh kill of the day.
 
The fourth set opened in back-and-forth fashion, until RMU changed the pace with a 5-1 run following a CCSU service error, which put the Colonials up by six, 15-9. The Blue Devils scored the next three, and force a Robert Morris timeout. Out of the break, RMU scored five-straight kills and increased its advantage to seven, its largest lead of the frame. Fisher helped the Colonials finish off the set with five more kills to extend the match.
 
The RMU defense struggled in sets two and three, as the Colonials posted just three total team blocks, while the Blue Devils recorded eight stuffs. As a result, Central Connecticut tabbed its best hitting percentages in sets two, three and five.
 
Robert Morris controlled the match early on, and amassed a 5-1 lead to open the contest, but Central Connecticut responded and tied the first game, 6-6. The Blue Devils started to turn the set around and led by as many as five points before the Colonials regained composure and knotted the score at 15 on a Krivoniak kill. The score tied two more times before RMU capped the set with a 7-1 streak to take the early 1-0 advantage.

The Colonials return to the Sewall Center to host the Bryant Bulldogs on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 3 p.m.
 
 
National Radar
Senior Arden Fisher currently ranks No. 4 in the nation in digs per set (5.52) after spending the first two weeks at number one, and was named Molten/NEC Player of the Week for week two after earning Defensive Player of the Week honors in the first week of action. As a team, Robert Morris ranks ninth in the nation in digs per set (17.67).
 
Trending
Senior Arden Fisher has posted a double-double in 12 of 14 matches played this season. 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 (186) and digs (311). Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Lord has recorded a double-double in eight of her last 11 outings. She is averaging 2.40 kills and 3.81 digs per set.
 
We Can Dig It
Three Colonials rank among the top-10 in the NEC in digs per set: No. 1 Arden Fisher (5.52), No. 6 Taylor Lord (3.74), and No. 9 Allie Yurkovich (3.24).
 
Success Under Starr
The Colonials posted their best overall winning percentage (.594) under head coach Dale Starr last season. Starr is two wins shy of his 100th 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.
 
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 154-37 in conference play.
 
 
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