Volleyball | 10/5/2018 12:04:00 AM

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The Robert Morris volleyball team celebrates Homecoming 2018 with two home matches against Northeast Conference rivals this weekend. The Colonials host the Terriers of St. Francis Brooklyn College on Friday at the North Athletic Complex in Moon Township, Pennsylvania before welcoming the Blackbirds of Long Island University Brooklyn on Saturday.

The "Colonial Crazies" student section has called for a "White Out," encouraging all fans to wear white to the Friday match, which has a 7:00 p.m. EDT first serve, while first serve on Saturday is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. EDT. Admission to both matches is free, and both can be seen for free on NEC Front Row.

Robert Morris (6-11, 0-3) vs. St. Francis Brooklyn & LIU Brooklyn
Fri., Oct. 5 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn (7:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
Sat., Oct. 6 vs. LIU Brooklyn (5:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS

COMPLETE NOTES PACKAGE: Robert Morris vs. St. Francis Brooklyn & LIU Brooklyn (Oct. 5-6, 2018) (PDF)

History has been decidedly on RMU's side in its rivalry with SFBK, having prevailed in 37 of their 39 all-time meetings* entering Friday. The Colonials took out the Terriers in four sets (25-19, 25-15, 21-25, 25-14) in their last visit to the NAC on Oct. 21, 2017, fueled by a combined 25 kills and nine total blocks from front-row duo Maria Alfano and Emma Granger.

Robert Morris and LIU Brooklyn have been more evenly matched over the years, with the Blackbirds holding a narrow 25-24 edge in their all-time series* with the Colonials. RMU toppled LIU in four sets (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20) on Oct. 20, 2017, the last meeting at the NAC, but fell in four at the NEC Tournament Semifinal in Brooklyn Nov. 17, 2017. LIU Brooklyn would repeat as tournament champion.

Previously, the Colonials had beaten LIU in a four-set affair (21-25, 31-29, 25-14, 25-23) in Brooklyn to capture their most recent NEC Tournament championship, Nov. 22, 2015.

*Records from 1981-83; 1985-86 and 1988-89 are missing

Last Time Out
The second-year northeast Ohio tandem of middle blocker Emma Granger and outside hitter Alyson Londot delivered ten kills apiece to co-lead the Colonials, and ten different players registered at least one. However, Saint Francis U took command of last Friday's rivalry contest at DeGol Arena with a six-point run midway through the first set, followed by a five-point run during the second to send RMU to its fourth straight defeat overall.

Scouting The Opponents
St. Francis Brooklyn (5-12, 1-3) suffered a pair of straight-set losses to visiting Central Connecticut and Bryant last weekend. First-year standout Kizzy Rodriguez, the Molten/NEC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 2 and Co-Rookie of the Week for Week 5, continues to impress in the libero position for the Terriers. Rodriguez averaged 5.5 digs per set in both matches.

Offensively, senior setter Nina Tiedt has been a bright spot for SFBK, averaging 6.49 assists (6th, NEC) and 0.36 service aces (3rd, NEC) per set this season. The Terriers lead the conference with their team average of 1.64 aces per set.

LIU Brooklyn (7-6, 4-0) is the only remaining unbeaten team in NEC play after a couple of four-set wins last weekend over Bryant and CCSU, the two teams with whom the Blackbirds shared the 2017 regular-season crown. Senior outside hitter and reigning NEC Player of the Year Viktoria Fink was named the NEC Co-Player of the Week after averaging 4.38 kills per set at a .310 clip for the weekend and leading LIU in kills in both matches. The Austrian native ranks fourth in the NEC with 3.20 kills per set.

Junior libero Natalia Rivera, meanwhile, was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week for averaging 7.75 digs per set this weekend, including an NEC season-high 33 against the Bulldogs. Rivera leads the NEC in digs per set by almost an entire dig with a 5.35 average, and she has racked up a league-best 6.14 per set in conference matches.

MUSKET SHOTS

Lord Have Mercy
Taylor Lord achieved her team-leading fourth double-double of the season versus Central Connecticut Sept. 21 with ten kills and ten digs. She matched that output the last time she played against St. Francis Brooklyn at home, adding three total blocks in the RMU victory. Lord registered her 1,000th career dig versus LIU Brooklyn in her last home outing against the Blackbirds, and she was named to the All-NEC Tournament team after finishing with nine kills, 19 digs and two solo blocks in their postseason tilt.

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 Friday fifth in RMU lore with 3.48 digs per set all-time, just ahead of Lord (3.33), and seventh in the NEC with 3.74 per set this season, 4.45 per set in NEC play (5th, NEC).

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. Zanolli is averaging 1.78 digs per set off the bench in home matches and an even 3.0 per set to begin conference play.
 

Cardiac Colonials
Robert Morris has won five five-set matches in six opportunities in 2018, coming from behind in all five wins and coming back from a 2-0 deficit twice at home: versus Kent State Sept. 4 and against Houston Sept. 15. In doing so, the Colonials have already equaled their most five-set wins in any single season under Dale Starr. They went 5-2 in five-setters in 2014, although their best winning percentage in five-setters under Starr happened in 2015, when they went 3-1 (.750).

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 four total blocks at Bryant Sept. 22 marked the second time she has equaled that career high. Clements ranks seventh in the NEC with her .273 hitting percentage, and her .362 clip in conference play is third-highest among all qualified players.

Wonder Woman
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 and averaging a team-best 3.29 kills per set while leading RMU in kills for all three tournament matches. Granger is sixth in the NEC with her .277 attack average entering Friday, and her .250 clip in NEC play is good for ninth in the conference.

Native Whit
Pittsburgh-raised Whitney Brown remains second in the NEC with 8.06 assists per set. She leads active Colonials and ranks sixth in RMU history with a career average of 6.03 per set. Brown's first career NEC appearance was at SFBK on Oct. 7, 2017, when she made six assists and one dig over one set of play.

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 fifth in the NEC at 0.35 aces per set, got the 61st of her rookie season at LIU in the 2017 NEC Tournament to set a new RMU single-year record. Meanwhile, the career-high five by Brown at UMBC Sept. 7 made her the sixth different Colonial to record that many in a five-set match. Alyson Londot made a career-high four aces versus SFBK in their Oct. 2017 meeting.

What's In A Name?
In 1935, the Pittsburgh School of Accountancy, established 1921, took the name of Robert Morris, the Founding Father and Pennsylvanian known as the "Financier of the American Revolution," though it was not known as "RMU" until 2002. RMU's Saturday opponent, LIU Brooklyn, announced on Wednesday it is merging with LIU Post for the 2019-20 academic/athletic year and will be known simply as "LIU." A school color change, to blue and gold, has also been made public, and a new mascot will be voted on by students and alumni. Its volleyball program will continue to compete on LIU's Brooklyn campus.

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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