BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- The
Robert Morris volleyball team has spent its entire 2018 season trying to play the perfect match, and in the process, it kept the top team in the Northeast Conference from achieving perfection.
Senior outside hitter
Taylor Lord led all competitors with 17 kills, and the Colonials (9-17, 3-8) won at LIU Brooklyn for the first time since their NEC Tournament championship victory her rookie year, surprising the defending tournament champion in four sets (13-25, 25-23, 27-25, 28-26) at the Steinberg Wellness Center Saturday evening.
Including last year's tournament, LIU had not lost to a conference opponent since Robert Morris took a four-set decision (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20) at the North Athletic Complex Oct. 20, 2017, a streak of 18 matches.
Lord reached double figures in kills for the fifth time in her last six NEC outings in dealing the Blackbirds (13-7, 10-1) their first defeat in conference play, adding a season-high five total blocks.
Sophomore setter
Whitney Brown gave her plenty of help with her fifth double-double of the season, and first since a five-set affair at Bryant Sept. 22, on the strength of 21 assists and 11 digs.
"We've kept saying, as a team, we found our clarity," Brown said. "It just feels really good to be able to play together, as a team, and get that win. I think we really needed it."
Rookie
Megan Cannon continued to provide depth at her position, chipping in a team-high 26 helpers. She teed one up for sophomore outside hitter
Mirna Sarjanovic, who picked up the last of four straight points by the Colonials to close out the second set.
Sarjanovic put one off a hand to even the match after a slow start by RMU, while stabilizing its defense with 16 digs, equaling her season high.
"We played really loose. We were able to let go of our mistakes really quickly, which helped a lot," said Cannon. "It was such a team effort, and everybody was there to play. It feels good."
An early 5-0 LIU run in that second frame, opening the door for an 8-3 lead, proved no problem for the never-say-die Colonials. Rookie outside hitter
Alyssa Hudak, who attacked at a robust .350 clip and mirrored her season-high 11 kills, got one to stop the bleeding before her block assist made it 8-5.
A Sarjanovic service ace, followed by a Blackbirds error, cut the hosts' lead to 14-13, then Lord would go on to deliver two game-tying kills. LIU Brooklyn pulled back ahead, 21-19, but the Colonials responded well to head coach
Dale Starr's timeout, as Hudak put away a couple balls from Brown to tie things up again.
Hudak would also start the aforementioned four-point ride by RMU to take the second set after it used its last timeout down two points.
The teams went back and forth to begin the third set before sophomore middle blocker
Emma Granger gave Robert Morris an 8-7 edge off a block assist and followed it up with her 41st service ace of the year. Granger finished with nine total blocks to top all participants, one short of tying her career high.
Once again, RMU showed character after Starr was compelled to use a timeout. Down 14-10, Granger's second-year colleague,
Maria Alfano, recorded one of her six kills, and Sarjanovic aced a serve after a Blackbirds miscue to get her team back in the game.
The Colonials used their second timeout before climbing out of a 22-18 hole. NEC Co-Player of the Week Viktoria Fink later put LIU Brooklyn on set point, but Lord answered right back, and her consecutive kills stole the third for RMU.
"After that first set, things didn't look very good, but we all kept our heads up and pushed through it," said Brown. "Everybody was on board."
Sophomore outside hitter
Alyson Londot went upstairs and got one for a 10-8 RMU advantage. Going forward, neither side could get into any kind of a groove offensively, until LIU leapfrogged RMU for a 21-19 lead as each team took turns burning a timeout.
A Granger kill, with familiar ferocity, lifted the Colonials, then Alfano lifted up her teammate after a serving error with a kill and block assist. Two plays later, the former Seneca Valley High School standout skillfully arched the ball just inside the back boundary for a 23-23 deadlock.
Robert Morris negated set point twice before a joint block by Granger and Sarjanovic brought the visitors to match point. After catching a break on an LIU service error, Granger and Brown patiently blocked a Jovana Stekovic hit at the side of the net to nail down a confidence-building upset.
Defensively, RMU held the typically proficient Blackbirds to a .181 team attack average, including an .067 clip in the deciding set. Senior libero
Allie Yurkovich paced all players with 17 digs.
"The talk wasn't so much about finding their weaknesses, but it was about focusing on ourselves, and playing our game," Brown said. "I think focusing on ourselves made us perform that much better."
"We've definitely been unlucky at times," said Cannon, "but tonight, I think the luck came from our own effort and our own energy."
The Colonials return home for their special Dig Pink match with arch-rival Saint Francis University Fri., Nov. 2. Carrying out an initiative sponsored by the NEC since 2009, the team will be promoting cancer awareness and raising funds for research.
First serve at the North Athletic Complex is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT, and admission is free.
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