Volleyball | 10/25/2018 9:31:00 PM
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris volleyball team continues the second stage of round-robin conference play when it visits the Terriers of St. Francis College and the Blackbirds of Long Island University for back-to-back Northeast Conference matches Friday and Saturday.
First serve at SFBK is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. EDT Friday at the Genovesi Center in Brooklyn Heights, New York, and first serve at LIU is also slated for 4:00 at the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn. Both matches can be seen live on NEC Front Row.
Robert Morris (8-16, 2-7) at St. Francis Brooklyn & LIU Brooklyn
Fri., Oct. 26 at St. Francis Brooklyn (4:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
Sat., Oct. 27 at LIU Brooklyn (4:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
COMPLETE NOTES PACKAGE: Robert Morris at St. Francis Brooklyn & LIU Brooklyn (Oct. 26-27, 2018) (PDF)
History has been largely on RMU's side in its rivalry with St. Francis Brooklyn, having prevailed in 38 of their 40 all-time meetings entering Friday. The Colonials took out the Terriers in four sets (25-20, 25-22, 14-25, 25-17) on Oct. 5 at the North Athletic Complex, fueled by 16 kills from
Taylor Lord on her .324 attack average, along with nine digs.
Robert Morris and LIU Brooklyn have been more evenly matched over the years, with the Blackbirds holding a narrow 26-24 edge in their all-time series with the Colonials. LIU slipped past RMU in four sets (20-25, 22-25, 25-19, 22-25) at the NAC on Oct. 6, despite 25 digs from
Allie Yurkovich that were one shy of equalling her previous career high.
The Colonials defeated SFBK in a four-set affair (25-12, 32-30, 23-25, 25-20) for their last win at the Genovesi Center Nov. 12, 2016 behind 17 kills and 21 digs from
Arden Fisher. Meanwhile, they seek their first win at LIU since taking a four-setter (21-25, 31-29, 25-14, 25-23) to capture their most recent NEC Tournament championship, Nov. 22, 2015.
Last Time Out
Visiting Central Connecticut edged the Colonials in four sets at the North Athletic Complex last Friday, despite a season-high 19 kills from outside hitter
Taylor Lord, who dug 13 attempts as well. Then, last Saturday, Bryant barely outlasted Robert Morris in an epic five-set battle (25-23, 23-25, 24-26, 26-24, 16-18) at the North Athletic Complex. The "Goggle Gang" of
Emma Granger and
Maria Alfano led the offense, combining to hit .320 with 18 kills and 12 blocks altogether.
Scouting The Opponents
St. Francis Brooklyn (7-16, 3-6) was one of four teams in the Northeast Conference to win twice last weekend. Sophomore outside hitter Vanja Milijacic registered a pair of season-highs in victories for the Terriers over Sacred Heart (16 K, 16 D) and Fairleigh Dickinson (17 K, 19 D), good enough for Molten/NEC Co-Player of the Week. The Belgrade, Serbia native finished the weekend with averages of 3.67 kills and 3.89 digs per set, and she led SFBK with 14 kills, hitting .458, in its last meeting with Robert Morris.
LIU Brooklyn (12-6, 9-0) also held serve against SHU and FDU last Friday and Saturday. Senior outside hitter Viktoria Fink, the 2017 NEC Player of the Year, led the Blackbirds to their wins over the Knights and Pioneers, averaging 3.71 kills and 3.14 digs per set while totaling three aces en route to NEC Co-Player of the Week honors. The Austrian native leads LIU and is fifth in the NEC with 3.22 kills per set in 2018. The Colonials held Fink to eight kills and a -.053 attack average last time they faced her.
MUSKET SHOTS
Granger Danger
Emma Granger ranks fifth in the conference with her .283 attack average, eighth with 0.82 blocks per set and tenth with 2.63 kills per set. Against NEC competition she has hit .290, which is also good for fifth, and her 2.92 kills per set in conference play rank ninth. Granger, who has tied
Arden Fisher for fifth in RMU history with 2.79 per set, has hit double-digit kills in seven of her last eight NEC matches.
Stuck In The Middle With (R-M-)You
Maria Alfano and
Skylar Clements have taken turns giving fellow second-year middle blocker Granger strong support at her position. Alfano ranks seventh overall in the NEC with her .262 attack average and fifth with her 0.88 blocks per set after matching her career high with seven versus Bryant. Clements has averaged 0.89 blocks per set against NEC competition, which ranks ninth entering Friday.
Lord Have Mercy
Taylor Lord was a Week 9 NEC Prime Performer after her team-leading fifth and sixth double-doubles of the season against CCSU and Bryant. After averaging a combined 4.11 kills per set, she jumped up to eighth in the conference with 3.00 kills per set in NEC play. Lord made a season-high 19 kills against the Blue Devils Oct. 19, and she had back-to-back double-doubles in Brooklyn Oct. 6-7, 2017.
Native Whit
Pittsburgh-raised
Whitney Brown has received three NEC Prime Performer selections this season, most recently for her Week 7 efforts. She averaged 10.62 assists per set versus St. Francis Brooklyn and LIU Brooklyn Oct. 5-6. Brown remains second in the NEC with 8.47 assists per set, and she is sixth in RMU history with a career average of 6.53 per set.
A Lot To Un-Pack
Megan Cannon achieved new season highs in assists in each of last weekend's NEC contests. She picked up 38 apples and added a personal-best 14 digs against Central Connecticut for the second double-double of her rookie campaign. Her first career double-double came against William & Mary, Aug. 31, at the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Virginia, and in both matches, she finished with a pair of block assists. Cannon outdid herself versus Bryant with 49 helpers.
Hannah Hoffman's 58 versus Bryant Oct. 8, 2011 remain the most by a Colonials rookie in a five-set match.
Righteous In-Dig-Nation
Allie Yurkovich was named an NEC Prime Performer for Week 9 after digging a career-high 30 attempts versus Bryant last Saturday and leading the Colonials with 5.78 digs per set for the weekend. She enters Friday fourth in RMU lore with 3.60 digs per set all-time, third in the NEC with 4.24 per set this season and also third with 5.03 per set in NEC play. Yurkovich, who has made at least 20 digs in each of her last six outings, has passed
Melissa Bograd '15 for fifth in program history with her 1,587 digs all-time.
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 needs only three more to become the 12th, and she is second in the NEC at 0.40 aces per set entering Friday, averaging 0.55 per set over six career meetings with SFBK and LIU. One of two NEC players in the NCAA top-25, Granger also ranks 22nd in Division I with her 36 total aces in 2018.
Youth Will Be Served
Dale Starr welcomed twice as many freshmen in 2017 (eight) as in 2018, matching the 2014 squad for the most rookies on a Starr-coached Colonials team, whereas his 2018 junior class, for the first time in his tenure, is nonexistent. Previously, his 2010, 2012 and 2014 rosters each featured only one junior, while the 2013 team remains, for the time being, his only senior-less one since joining Robert Morris.
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