INDIANAPOLIS – The Robert Morris University volleyball team split a pair of matches on Friday at the Butler Bulldog Brawl, defeating Stony Brook 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 26-24, 25-10) and falling to Eastern Michigan 3-0 (18-25, 18-25, 21-25) at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

With the split, the Colonials move to 1-1 on the season.

Against Stony Brook, freshman outside hitter Alyson Londot paced the Colonials as she recorded her first-career double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs. Classmate Emma Granger totaled 15 kills while hitting .500 on 26 attacks. She also added three block assists. Junior outside hitter Taylor Lord tallied 15 kills, 17 digs and four service aces. Senior setter Brianna Frakes led Robert Morris with 44 assists.

The Colonials jumped out to an early 4-1 first set lead thanks to a service ace from Lord. From there, Robert Morris used a 12-6 run to extend the lead to 16-7. A kill from Granger extended the lead to 20-12 before she put the match out of reach with her last kill to make it 24-12. Stony Brook opened the second set on a 4-1 run before the Seawolves upped their lead to 13-8. The Colonials used an 11-5 run to take a 19-18 lead on an attack error before the Seawolves earned the win.

In the third set the two teams traded points early on as RMU took a 14-13 lead. The Colonials took a 22-18 lead before Stony Brook took a 23-22 lead. After a timeout, Robert Morris used a 4-1 run to take the set. It was all Robert Morris in the fourth set as the Colonials jumped out to a 14-4 lead and never looked back in winning 25-10.

Robert Morris hit at a .233 clip and limited Stony Brook to just a .099 attack percentage. The Colonials held a 54-42 advantage in kills and held a decisive 9-4 margin in service aces.

Against Eastern Michigan, freshman middle blocker Maria Alfano collected eight kills while classmate Skylar Clements and Lord each totaled four kills. Freshman Whitney Brown led the Colonials with 16 assists. Frakes added 10 assists.

The Colonials and Eagles traded points during the opening set as the teams were tied 10-10. Eastern Michigan then used a 7-0 run to go up 17-10. Robert Morris cut it to 19-15 before the Eagles pulled away late. The second set saw the Colonials take a 9-5 lead early before EMU tied it at 15-15. From there, the Eagles pulled away late for the win. RMU took an 8-5 lead early in the third set and then pushed it to 12-8 on a kill from freshman rightside Caroline Bain. The Eagle then took a 20-19 lead before winning the set and match.

Robert Morris concludes the Bulldog Brawl tomorrow when it squares off against tournament host Butler at 11:30 a.m. followed by Oakland at 4:30 p.m.

Notes
Robert Morris held an opponent (Stony Brook – 12 points set one and 10 points set four) to 15 or fewer points in a set for the first time since November 12, 2016 against St. Francis Brooklyn.

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