MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris volleyball team played with exactly the kind of heart to be expected on an emotional night for two in particular, but it was unable to avenge an earlier loss to Central Connecticut at the North Athletic Complex Saturday night.
Although the Blue Devils (18-9, 11-3) escaped with a 3-2 win (19-25, 32-30, 28-26, 20-25, 7-15), there was plenty to celebrate on Senior Night, including the careers of outside hitter Deja Tamlin and setter
Brianna Frakes.
Frakes played her final regular-season match sitting at No. 4 on the Robert Morris all-time assist chart, and she finished it with 27 helpers and 14 digs for her team-leading 13th double-double of the year. Her fellow Michigander played in her 61st collegiate match, and Tamlin wrapped it up with six kills, five digs and three total blocks.
The future at Frakes' position continues to look bright. Local product
Whitney Brown registered the fourth double-double of her rookie season and first since Sept. 9 with 18 assists and 11 digs. In the marathon second set that tied the match, the longest of the Colonials' 2017 campaign, Brown set up three RMU points in a row, including a pair of kills by
Emma Granger, for the victory.
Granger completed one of the more remarkable freshman seasons in recent memory with ten kills, six total blocks and five digs. In addition, the four-time
Molten/NEC Rookie of the Week earned her 60th service ace of the year and now shares the Robert Morris single-season record with Kristie Tuxford (1995) and Darcey Miller (2004).
Outside hitter
Taylor Lord figured into a 5-0 run by the Colonials to begin that second frame, which produced ten ties and five lead changes. Lord put on one of the most spirited performances of her junior season with a match-leading 17 kills and 19 digs, her tenth double-double this season.
RMU used a group effort to rally in the third set, as middle blocker
Maria Alfano, playing another solid two-way game alongside Granger, hit .364 for the set and a team-leading .270 for the night. She also matched Granger with six total blocks, making this the eighth match of the past ten in which the erstwhile Seneca Valley H.S. standout has paced the Colonials in kills and/or total blocks.
Now Robert Morris (14-16, 8-6) has a chance to repeat history. Making its 18th postseason appearance in 19 years, it enters next week's NEC Tournament as the No. 4 seed, drawing host LIU Brooklyn by virtue of tiebreakers. LIU, CCSU and Bryant shared the regular-season Northeast Conference title.
Robert Morris rallied before falling to LIU in a 3-2 thriller Oct. 6, in which Tamlin registered a season-best ten kills and five digs, then got redemption in a 3-1 decision Oct. 20 at the NAC that saw Lord surpass the 1,000-career dig mark.
Tamlin and Frakes, who aim to extend their NCAA careers, were part of the last RMU squad to capture the tournament championship, the 2015 edition that went into the Steinberg Wellness Center and upset the three-time champ Blackbirds for the title in four sets en route to the sixth NCAA Tournament in program history.
Frakes was named to the 2015 All-NEC Tournament Team, and then-freshman Lord registered her eighth straight double-double that day.
The current Colonials square off with LIU in Brooklyn next Friday, at a time to be announced.
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