MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris volleyball team never backed down from the challenge of hosting the reigning Northeast Conference Tournament champion and current NEC front-runner, but LIU Brooklyn snuffed out early glimmers of hope and held on for a four-set victory (20-25, 22-25, 25-19, 22-25) at the North Athletic Complex Saturday.
The Colonials (7-12, 1-4) delivered one of their best defensive efforts of the season, holding the Blackbirds (9-6, 6-0) to an .055 team attack average. Senior libero
Allie Yurkovich, in particular, was in top form, leading all players with 25 digs that were one shy of the career high she originally obtained against visiting LIU Brooklyn Oct. 20, 2017.
LIU, however, concocted ways to build a two-set lead that RMU could not surmount. It raced out to a 12-6 lead in the first, during which Robert Morris roared back to make it as close as 23-20 before consecutive errors. After seeing the Colonials respond with a 9-3 start to the second that later turned into a 13-8 cushion, the champs chipped away and ultimately used a 6-0 run to erase the deficit and take command of the match.
Sophomore middle blocker
Emma Granger helped keep her team alive by bookending an early 5-0 run in the third that gave RMU a 10-7 advantage. Granger, who finished with a match-high 15 kills while adding three blocks and a pair of service aces, accounted for three points and made one of those blocks during a 9-0 outburst that the Colonials used to close the set and stay alive.
She meshed particularly well with sophomore setter
Whitney Brown, aiding one of the Avonworth product's four kills in the middle of that late surge. The 5'7" Brown led her team with four total blocks and led the field with 42 assists while throwing in five digs.This was her third straight NEC match with 40 or more helpers.
Things looked bleak when LIU Brooklyn started the fourth by grabbing five of the first six points, but Robert Morris fought back to make it a 17-17 game behind outside hitter
Mirna Sarjanovic. The Croatian sophomore had a good night off the bench with six kills on a .308 clip.
After a service error, Sarjanovic got her second equalizer in a row for an 18-18 deadlock. The Blackbirds then rattled off five in a row, but the Colonials counter-punched with a 4-0 run capped by a Granger ace that made it 23-22.
An error at the end of a long rally, followed by match point from Kora Schaberl, the only LIU player to reach double figures in kills, helped the visitors escape.
Sophomore outside hitter
Alyson Londot, who had accounted for set point in the third, had 11 kills altogether and added six digs. She made three of those kills early in the forth to keep RMU within reach.
Robert Morris interrupts NEC play Tuesday night with its final regular-season non-conference match, as it heads into downtown Pittsburgh to take on cross-town rival Duquesne. First serve from the A.J. Palumbo Center is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN Plus.
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