Volleyball | 8/31/2017 10:30:00 AM

Robert Morris Colonials (1-4, 0-0 NEC) at Duquesne Invitational 
Friday, September 1, 2017 // 1 p.m. vs. Northern Kentucky // Live Stats
Friday, September 1, 2017 // 5 p.m. vs. Canisius // Live Stats
Saturday, September 2, 2017 // 1 p.m. vs. Coppin State // Live Stats
Saturday, September 2, 2017 // 6 p.m. at Duquesne // Watch // Live Stats

NOTES: Robert Morris @ Duquesne Invitational (9.1.17 & 9.2.17)

Weekly Update




MUSKET SHOTS

Lord of the Dance
Against Youngstown State, junior outside hitter Taylor Lord matched her career-high with 21 kills while hitting at a .314 clip. She added 23 digs to tally her second double-double of the season. Her 23 digs also marked the eighth time in her career that she totaled 20-plus digs in a single match. She currently ranks eighth in the NEC with 3.65 digs/set.
 
Acing the Competition
Robert Morris currently leads the league and the country with 38 service aces. The Colonials have five more aces than Fordham, which ranks second nationally. Individually, RMU has two players in the top 30 in the nation in total aces. Freshman middle blocker Emma Granger ranks 10th with nine aces while classmate Alyson Londot is 27th with seven aces. RMU is the only school in the NEC to have two players rank among the top 30 individually in aces. Sacred Heart's Cassandra Lew is tied with Londot.
 
Can You Dig It
RMU leads the NEC and ranks second in the country with 349 digs (16.62/set). The Colonials also rank among the nation's best in team assists (234 - first) and team kills (243 - second).
 
Granger Lauded as NEC Prime Performer 
Emma Granger was honored as an NEC Prime Performer for her exploits during the opening weekend of the season at the Butler Bulldog Brawl. She was named to the All-Tournament team after she hit at a .352 clip in 14 sets. She also averaged 3.21 kills per set while tallying 13-plus kills in three of four matches. She hit .500 with 15 kills against Stony Brook. Granger hit .346 with 13 kills against Oakland.
 
Welcome Freshman
Head coach Dale Starr welcomes eight freshmen to the team in 2017 including Maria Alfano, Caroline Bain, Whitney Brown, Skylar Clements, Emma Granger, Alyson Londot, Mirna Sarjanovic and Erika Wilt. This matches the 2014 squad for the most freshmen on a Dale Starr coached Colonial team. The previous high was six back in 2015.
 
Challenge Accepted
The Colonials will have to find a way to replace the production of four-time All-NEC honoree Arden Fisher. Fisher became just the third RMU player in program history to earn All-NEC honors all four years of her career. Fisher was a second-team honoree her first three years before earning first-team laurels in 2016. She became the first volleyball player in in RMU history to record 1,000-plus career kills (1,246) and 1,500-plus career digs (1,852). Her 598 digs last season ranks second in the individual single-season records. She also finished her career ranked second in career digs and fifth in career kills.
 
A Historic Run
Robert Morris recorded its 18th consecutive winning record in NEC play. By doing so, the Colonials extended the longest such streak of any NEC member, past or present. Over that time span, RMU has gone 162-42 in conference play:

1999: 9-0
2000: 8-1
2001: 8-1
2002: 9-0
2003: 8-0
2004: 8-0
2005: 7-1
2006: 5-3
2007: 6-2
2008: 8-0
2009: 11-5
2010: 13-3
2011: 10-6
2012: 13-3
2013: 8-6
2014: 12-2
2015: 11-3
2016: 8-6

Follow RMU volleyball on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter