MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- If the Robert Morris volleyball team had any angst about moving across campus and playing its first match in the North Athletic Complex, it did everything in its power to take it out on last year's Northeast Conference regular season champions.

The Colonials (8-9, 2-0), with a total team effort on both offense and defense, won their third match in a row in eye-opening fashion with a 3-0 (27-25, 26-24, 25-15) decision over Sacred Heart Friday night. The straight-sets victory gave them their first winning streak of the season and first home-court triumph over the Pioneers (7-7, 1-1) since another RMU sweep Sept. 28, 2014 at the Sewall Center.

Junior outside hitter Taylor Lord, one of four Colonials to finish with at least six kills, led the team with eight, adding seven digs and a .350 hitting percentage. Middle blocker and two-time NEC Rookie of the Week Emma Granger, playing in front of a number of her fellow first-year students on "Class of 2021 Night," hit a solid .455, finishing with seven kills and a team-best six blocks.

Robert Morris out-dug Sacred Heart 44-31, with another freshman, Mirna Sarjanovic, leading the way with ten from her outside hitter spot, and outhit SHU by a staggering .259 to .094.

RMU proved immediately it would not be intimidated by one of the conference's top squads by hanging in a back-and-forth first-set battle before settling into a 16-12 lead. A pair of kills by junior setter Liz Campbell helped the Colonials gain a 23-20 edge before Sacred Heart answered and gave itself two set point opportunities. But Lord forced errors by Makayla Dole, who led all players with 16 kills, and Kiki Robinson following a service error to give Robert Morris a wild win.

The second set, initially, saw the Colonials struggle before calling their first timeout on the wrong end of a 12-7 score. They started chipping away, however, and a kill and subsequent block assist by Granger helped the home team pull ahead, 17-16. Facing set point once again and having just burned its last timeout, Robert Morris broke Sacred Heart's serve with another Granger kill, and freshman outside hitter/defensive specialist Erika Wilt forced two more critical SHU errors--with more defensive help from Granger--to build a 2-0 advantage.

Robert Morris, in the third set, would leave no doubt. It roared out to a 7-2 lead, inflated it to 17-8 on its only service ace of the game, by senior setter Brianna Frakes, then brought down the temporary house with, arguably, its most amazing play of the season.

Lord, racing to the utmost edge of the spectator area on the far side, dug a ball just in front of the first row of bleachers for junior libero Allie Yurkovich, who desperately sent it over with her back to the net. The stunned Pioneers watched it bounce just inside the near boundary for a miraculous point and a 20-11 RMU cushion.

With the wind effectively out of their sail, Lord did the honors on match point with her final kill, aided by Frakes, who ended with 29 assists and nine digs.

The Colonials look to extend their winning streak Saturday against Fairleigh Dickinson (3-13, 0-2) at the North Athletic Complex. First serve is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

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