Volleyball | 9/21/2017 10:30:00 AM

Friday, Sept. 22 at Saint Francis University (7:00 p.m.)

Top Story
The Robert Morris University volleyball team will try for back-to-back wins for the second time this season when it travels to Loretto, Pennsylvania to take on Saint Francis University for a 7:00 p.m. first serve at DeGol Arena Friday. This is the first Northeast Conference match of the season for the Colonials, who seek a winning record in conference play for the 19th consecutive year. The 2017 campaign marks their 30th anniversary as an NEC member, having won 14 regular- and postseason league titles and represented the conference in the NCAA Tournament six times in that span.

COMPLETE NOTES PACKAGE: Robert Morris at Saint Francis (9/22/17)

Last Time Out
The Colonials suffered two tough losses to begin the 2017 Robert Morris Invitational, the final NCAA Division I sporting event scheduled to take place at the Charles L. Sewall Center, but they ended the tournament in uplifting fashion. After dropping a pair of 3-2 decisions to Middle Tennessee (22-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 7-15) and Penn (17-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 12-15) Fri., Sept. 15, Robert Morris defeated Rutgers 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-21) Sat., Sept. 16 for its first-ever victory over a team from the Big Ten Conference. A 10-1 run sparked the Colonials in their first set versus the Scarlet Knights, and they took the last five points to take the set. Robert Morris then built leads of 14-8, 15-9 and 23-17 before holding on for a second-set victory. In the third set, RMU methodically rallied from a deficit as big as 10-7 at one point to complete the sweep. Freshmen Alyson Londot and Emma Granger, lining up at outside hitter and middle blocker, respectively, were named to the Robert Morris Invitational All-Tournament Team.

Up Next
Robert Morris returns home to continue Northeast Conference play against Sacred Heart (6-6, 0-0), next Friday at 7:00 p.m. The Colonials follow that up with a 5:00 p.m. NEC contest against visiting Fairleigh Dickinson (3-11, 0-0) next Saturday.

Scouting The Opponent
Saint Francis (6-7, 0-0) is also coming off a split of its own preseason tournament, the Red Flash Classic. SFU swept Bucknell (25-21, 25-23, 25-20) Sept. 15 before another straight-set win, over Norfolk State (25-10, 25-19, 25-15), Sept. 16, then fell to Morehead State, 3-1 (17-25, 17-25, 25-21, 18-25), in last Saturday's finale. Junior setter Amelia Metzler and senior outside hitter Emily Marcinowski were named to the all-tournament team. Meanwhile, Jenna Veres, a 5'6" defensive specialist, also has emerged as a player to watch. The Independence, Ohio native, like Marcinowski, was named an NEC Prime Performer for her efforts in the Red Flash Classic, averaging 5.1 digs per set over three matches and registering a team-high 20 versus Morehead State. Veres ranks 17th in the NCAA with 5.53 digs per set.

About Robert Morris
The Colonials were predicted to finish in fifth place in the 2017 NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll. RMU missed qualifying for its 18th consecutive NEC Tournament by just one game last season. In each of the last 18 seasons, the Colonials have posted a winning record in league competition, which stands as the longest such streak of any NEC member, past or present.

MUSKET SHOTS

A Historic Run
Last year Robert Morris finished with its 18th straight winning record in Northeast Conference play. By doing so, the Colonials extended the longest such streak of any NEC member, past or present. Over that timeframe, RMU has gone 162-42 (.794) in NEC matches:
    
    1999: 9-0    2004: 8-0   2009: 11-5  2014: 12-2
    2000: 8-1    2005: 7-1    2010: 13-3   2015: 11-3
    2001: 8-1     2006: 5-3   2011: 10-6    2016: 8-6
    2002: 9-0   2007: 6-2   2012: 13-3    
    2003: 8-0   2008: 8-0   2013: 8-6

Feeling Right at Home
Of the four local recruits on the 2017 Robert Morris roster, freshman middle blocker Maria Alfano is the erstwhile Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) star who has acquitted herself best as of late. Last year the Cranberry Township native helped Seneca Valley earn a WPIAL championship as a senior there, and this year Alfano is complementing Emma Granger nicely in the Colonials' midcourt with 26.0 total blocks, ranking second on the team, and a .289 hitting percentage that also ranks second on the squad (among players with, minimally, 3.0 total attacks per set) and seventh in the NEC. RMU, collectively, is hitting an NEC-best .194--just ahead of SFU's .184.

Viva La Assistance
One of only two seniors on this historically young Colonials team, setter Brianna Frakes has been one of its most consistent players, and not just in the preseason, either. Frakes is pacing RMU with 7.74 assists per set, which ranks fourth in the Northeast Conference. Along with Kiki Robinson of Sacred Heart, which visits Robert Morris next week, she is the only NEC player to crack the 400-assist mark thus far with 410 helpers on the year. Frakes, who finished second in the conference in assists per set (8.43) as a junior and led the NEC in that category as a sophomore (9.14), hit a new season high with 49 apples against Penn Sept. 15.

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