Volleyball | 10/11/2018 11:15:00 AM

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The Robert Morris volleyball team resumes Northeast Conference play this weekend with two critical matches on the road. The Colonials visit the Knights of Fairleigh Dickinson University Friday before traveling to take on the Pioneers of Sacred Heart University Saturday.

First serve against FDU from Stratis Arena at the George and Phyllis Rothman Center in Hackensack, New Jersey is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. EDT Friday, and first serve against SHU from the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, Connecticut is slated for 4:00 p.m. Saturday.

Saturday's contest against the Pioneers can be seen live on NEC Front Row.

Robert Morris (7-13, 1-4) at Fairleigh Dickinson & Sacred Heart
Fri., Oct. 12 (5:00 p.m.) - LIVE STATS
Sat., Oct. 13 (4:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM

COMPLETE NOTES PACKAGE: Robert Morris at Fairleigh Dickinson & Sacred Heart (Oct. 12-13, 2018) (PDF)

RMU has a commanding 31-7 lead in its all-time series with the Knights, and it continued that long-term success on its most recent trip to FDU. The Colonials spoiled Senior Day at the Rothman Center Oct. 28, 2017 with a straight-set victory (25-7, 25-19, 25-21), which included a team-leading 11th double-double and fifth in a row from Brianna Frakes, who finished with 36 assists and 11 digs.

Robert Morris took a five-set decision over Sacred Heart at the Pitt Center Oct. 27, 2017, its most recent visit there, in a milestone match for Frakes. She became just the fourth Robert Morris player all-time to register 3,000 career assists, collecting 44 apples as the Colonials overcame a two-set deficit (23-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 18-16) to earn the win.

The Colonials hold a substantial lead, 23-9, in their all-time series with the Pioneers as well.

Last Time Out
The Colonials were unable to parlay strong starts into a strong finish in their final non-conference match of the regular season, falling in straight sets to Duquesne at the A.J. Palumbo Center Tuesday night. A balanced effort on offense saw Emily Devlin and Mirna Sarjanovic deliver seven kills apiece, and Maria Alfano added six kills and six total blocks, including three solo.
 

Scouting The Opponents
Fairleigh Dickinson (2-17, 0-5) is coming off a pair of straight-set losses at two of last year's regular-season NEC tri-champions, Central Connecticut and Bryant, last Friday and Saturday, respectively. While the Knights battle through growing pains, some young talent has emerged. Rookie setter Corina Beimers averages 5.17 assists per set, which ranks tenth in the conference. First-year libero Jaelyn Young is ninth in the NEC with 3.20 digs per set and averages 3.85 per set in conference play (6th, NEC). Meanwhile, junior outside hitter Erika Sullivan, who made eight kills on a .217 average the last time she faced RMU, is hitting .258 and averaging 2.88 kills per set in NEC play, both of which rank eighth.

Sacred Heart (10-6, 3-2) split its matches with Bryant and CCSU on the road last weekend, upending the Bulldogs in three straight (25-23, 25-20, 25-10) before bowing to the Blue Devils in four. Redshirt junior outside hitter Liisel Nelis, a Week 7 NEC Prime Performer, averaged 3.57 kills per set over both outings and hammered out 14 in the win at Bryant. She is also averaging 3.57 per set for the season, putting her atop the NEC. Nelis registered 22 kills and 12 digs, hitting .269, in her last meeting versus RMU. Rookie setter Sarah Ciszek has five double-doubles and leads the NEC with 9.09 assists per set.
 

MUSKET SHOTS

Native Whit
Pittsburgh-raised Whitney Brown received her third NEC Prime Performer nod of the season for her Homecoming Week efforts. She averaged 10.62 assists per set this past weekend, and she co-led the Colonials with a combined seven total blocks, including a team-high six block assists. Brown remains second in the NEC with 8.49 assists per set, and she is sixth in RMU history with a career average of 6.45 per set. Brown has recorded at least 40 in each of her last three conference matches.
 

Granger Danger
Emma Granger received her first career NEC Player of the Week Award for her Week 4 efforts, including her performance in the RMU Sheraton Innvitational. She made the all-tournament team after hitting .326 for the weekend while leading RMU in kills for all three tournament matches. Granger is fifth in the NEC with her .280 attack average, and her .288 clip in NEC play is good for fourth in the conference. Her first career double-double of 13 kills and ten total blocks came at Sacred Heart last season.

Lord Have Mercy
Taylor Lord achieved her team-leading fourth double-double of the season in the NEC opener at Central Connecticut Sept. 21 with ten kills and ten digs. Her ninth double-double of last season came at SHU, with ten kills and ten digs. She also made a season-high five total blocks against the Pioneers that night. Lord hit .345 in her last visit to Fairleigh Dickinson, her second-highest attack average of 2017.

Righteous In-Dig-Nation
Allie Yurkovich made the RMU Sheraton Innvitational All-Tournament Team and was named Molten/NEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career after averaging a team-high 3.93 digs per set Sept. 14-15. She enters Tuesday fourth in RMU lore with 3.51 digs per set all-time, fifth in the NEC with 3.89 per set this season and fourth with 4.32 per set in NEC play.

Change For A Nikol?
Nikolette Zanolli has provided depth behind Yurkovich at the libero spot. She led Robert Morris with 45 total digs at the Charm City Challenge in Baltimore Sept. 7-8, and she paced the Colonials with 14 digs verus St. Francis Brooklyn last Saturday. Zanolli is averaging 2.89 digs per set in conference play and 2.75 per set on the road this season after chipping in 11 at Duquesne Tuesday night.

A Call To The Hall
On Wednesday, Hannah Veith '12 became the tenth member of the volleyball program and ninth player to join the RMU Athletics Hall of Fame. Another in a long line of stellar middle blockers at Robert Morris, Veith was a two-time All-NEC First Team selection (2010, 2011). Her career totals of 1,048 kills (10th), a .354 attack average (2nd) and 422 total blocks (4th) are all top ten in Robert Morris history.

The Sky's The Limit
Skylar Clements has established career highs in kills twice this year, most recently on Sept. 14 versus Eastern Michigan, and her five total blocks versus St. Francis Brooklyn last Saturday marked the third time she has equaled that career high. Clements is ninth in the NEC with her .246 hitting percentage, and her .260 clip in conference play is sixth-highest among all qualified players.

Ace In The Hole
With her second-set ace versus Loyola Sept. 7, Taylor Lord became the 11th player at RMU to amass 100 career service aces. Emma Granger, who is third in the NEC at 0.38 aces per set, registered seven in four matches against FDU and SHU as a rookie en route to the RMU single-year record (61). Meanwhile, the career-high five by Whitney Brown at UMBC Sept. 7 made her the sixth different Colonial to record that many in a five-set match. Lord combined for three aces at SHU and FDU last season.

You Can't Spell "Consistency" Without "NEC"
In 2017, Robert Morris finished with its 19th straight winning record in Northeast Conference play, extending the longest such streak of any NEC member, past or present. RMU has gone 170-48 (.780) in NEC play over that span:
    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    2017: 8-6
    2003: 8-0   2008: 8-0   2013: 8-6        

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