MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris volleyball team showed on Friday night what it still must learn about developing a killer instinct, even though one of its seniors did everything in her power to take a Northeast Conference rival to school with one kill after another.
Central Connecticut edged the Colonials in a four-set affair (21-25, 25-21, 24-26, 19-25) at the North Athletic Complex despite a season-high 19 kills from outside hitter
Taylor Lord. The 2017 All-NEC Tournament Team honoree added 13 digs to collect her team-leading fifth double-double of the season and second against the Blue Devils (9-10, 6-2).
Lord has now registered five career double-doubles against CCSU. Her offensive prowess helped rookie setter
Megan Cannon pick up her second double-double of 2018 with 38 assists and 14 digs, both season highs.
Cannon, who set herself apart in the preseason with her characteristic hustle, was all over the floor. Defensively, she was one piece of a cohesive puzzle, as senior libero
Allie Yurkovich dug a match-high 22 attempts, and sophomore outside hitter
Mirna Sarjanovic made 11 digs, giving RMU four in double figures.
Robert Morris kept things within reach by holding Central Connecticut to a .180 attack average.
Meanwhile, the Robert Morris service rotation showed signs of overcoming its mid-season struggles. Sophomore middle blocker
Emma Granger confidently delivered four of the team's seven aces while scattering nine kills and topping the Colonials with six total blocks.
The Week 8 NEC Prime Performer now has 34 service aces this year, needing only five more to become the 12th player in program history to record 100 for her career. Lord became the 11th on Sept. 7 versus Loyola (Maryland) in the Charm City Challenge.
The first set went back and forth, with neither offense able to truly catch fire and pull away. CCSUÂ took a 22-18 lead, but RMU cut it to one, thanks in part to back-to-back kills by Lord set up by Cannon. After a Blue Devils timeout, Raquel Quirarte tooled Cannon's block for a critical point, and the visitors took the next two.
RMU roared back with a 6-0 run early in the second, bookended by Lord, for a 9-4 advantage. She picked up an ace of her own to make it 11-5, and the Colonials then got on a roll behind Granger's serving, making it 15-6 at one point after her second ace of the night.
She took over with the game tied, 21-21, making three block assists and a kill to even the match.
Momentum shifted considerably in the third set, in which Granger continued to serve effectively, and the Colonials had a chance to take the lead. Sophomore middle blocker
Maria Alfano, who led RMU with her .346 attack average, put the home side ahead, 9-6, after consecutive Granger service aces.
Central Connecticut, however, rallied to tie in a set that would eventually feature 12 deadlocks, as well as nine lead changes. Head coach
Dale Starr called a timeout with his team down 21-18 that stopped the proverbial bleeding, as Robert Morris responded with five in a row.
Alfano put RMU on set point, but Madelyn Kaprelyan, who finished with a triple-double, kept CCSU alive, and the visitors used two more spirited rallies to sink the Colonials.
They did not relent, however, taking an 11-8 lead in the fourth with help from the front row. Central Connecticut took command with a 5-0 run, and Lord brought her team to within one on multiple occasions. It was as close as RMU would get.
Robert Morris (8-15, 2-6) hosts Bryant on Saturday in further NEC action. First serve against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. EDT at the NAC, and admission is free.
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