Volleyball | 11/9/2017 4:14:00 PM
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris University volleyball team tries for its sixth home conference win in a row, its longest such streak since 2010, and also battles for postseason positioning when it hosts Bryant University for a 7:00 p.m. first serve at the North Athletic Complex Friday. The Colonials then conclude their 2017 regular season and celebrate their senior class when they host Central Connecticut State University Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
RMU leads the all-time series against Bryant, 12-7, with its most recent home victory coming in a five-set decision Nov. 14, 2015 at the Sewall Center. It is 19-9 all-time versus CCSU, for that matter, after bowing to the Blue Devils in four sets Oct. 14. The Colonials last defeated Central Connecticut at home in another Senior Day match, a 3-1 win Nov. 15, 2015 at "The Chuck."
Meanwhile, Robert Morris has a chance to improve its NEC Tournament stead, having already clinched a spot, with a strong showing this weekend. LIU Brooklyn, Bryant and Central Connecticut have clinched as well, and they share first place entering Friday, with RMU just one game back. LIU controls its own destiny, but all four aforementioned teams can conceivably win or share the regular-season title and host the tournament.
COMPLETE NOTES PACKAGE: Robert Morris vs. Bryant and Central Connecticut (11/10/17-11/11/17)
Last Time Out
Robert Morris, effectively, punched its postseason ticket with a dramatic, come-from-behind 3-2 (25-11, 20-25, 16-25, 25-17, 16-14) victory over Saint Francis University at the North Athletic Complex last Friday, eliminating the Red Flash from the tournament chase with a season sweep. Down 2-1 in the match and 8-3 in the fourth set at one point,
Mirna Sarjanovic, in her return from injury, sparked a crucial RMU run that reversed momentum, finishing the night with four kills and 11 digs.
Brianna Frakes finished with her team-best 12th double-double of the year (42 assists, ten digs), and
Emma Granger's match point gave her 14 kills.
Senior Night
Outside hitter
Deja Tamlin and setter
Brianna Frakes are preparing to play in their final home and regular-season matches at Robert Morris. Tamlin has played in 60 career matches, averaging 1.07 kills, 0.49 digs and 0.43 blocks per set. Fellow Michigander Frakes will exit fourth in program history in career assists (3,111 through Nov. 3), having become the fourth RMU player to reach 3,000 Oct. 27 at Sacred Heart. She is a .201 lifetime hitter, ranks third in the NEC with 8.67 helpers per set and has averaged 7.98 per set for her collegiate career.
Scouting The Opponents
Bryant (19-11, 9-3), winner of four of its last five, is also coming off a five-set comeback, against Sacred Heart last Saturday, that clinched its NEC Tournament berth. Senior middle blocker Ally Lunsford, who is hitting a team-best .281 on the season, registered nine blocks in the win. CCSU (16-7, 9-3) swept the conference's weekly awards after sweeping Fairleigh Dickinson last Saturday for its third straight win. NEC Player/Defensive Player of the Week Maddie Smith made an NEC single-match season-high 14 blocks in a 3-2 win over SHU last Friday, and the senior middle blocker ranks in the top-20 nationally with a .406 attacking average.
About Robert Morris
RMU, picked fifth in the preseason coaches' poll, has won six NEC regular-season championships, including four straight 2001-2004. The Colonials have also won eight NEC Tournament titles, including five straight from 1999-2003 and their most recent crown in 2015. Robert Morris has also made six NCAA Tournament trips.
MUSKET SHOTS
Wonder Woman
Four-time
Molten/NEC Rookie of the Week
Emma Granger has emerged as the biggest threat in this year's revamped RMU service rotation. Granger leads the conference with 59 service aces and is now just two behind a pair of Atlantic 10 players, Olivia Fairchild (Fordham) and Sien Gallop (Saint Louis) for the Division I lead. Robert Morris, as a team, ranks third nationally with 1.83 aces per set, thanks in large part to the Dalton (Ohio) H.S. standout. Last Friday she finished with six aces, four in the opening frame alone, versus SFU. She is the eighth different Robert Morris player to complete a match with at least that many and now just the third Colonial to do it twice. This weekend, Granger can break the Robert Morris single-season record for aces, which is currently shared by Kristie Tuxford (60 in 1995) and Darcey Miller (60 in 2004).
Who's Your Taylor?
Taylor Lord also found unique success from the service rotation in that emotional win over the Red Flash, ending her night with a career-high five aces. In addition, the junior outside hitter, who, on Oct. 20, became the 12th different player in program history to record 1,000 career digs, made a season-high 24 in last week's victory. Now with 1,058 all-time digs at RMU, Lord has climbed to tenth in the Northeast Conference with an average of 2.99 digs per set.
Don't Hassle Me, I'm Local
Some former stars of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) have made a significant impact on the 2017 squad.
Whitney Brown (Avonworth H.S.) made eight digs over three sets versus SFU last Friday, aiding the Colonials comeback with timely defense.
Maria Alfano (Seneca Valley H.S.) ranks fourth in the NEC with a .290 hitting percentage and has led the team in kills and/or total blocks in six of its last eight contests. Libero
Allie Yurkovich (Thomas Jefferson H.S.), like
Taylor Lord, hit the aforementioned 1,000-dig mark this season, doing so in the Colonials' Sept. 22 triumph at Saint Francis University. She ranks seventh in the NEC with 3.50 digs per set, having appeared in a team-best 105 frames for Robert Morris this season.
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