Volleyball | 11/2/2018 7:12:00 AM
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris volleyball team returns to campus for its final homestand of the 2018 season, as the Colonials welcome the Red Flash of Saint Francis University Friday night.
First serve against arch-rival SFU, their lone Week 11 opponent, is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT at the North Athletic Complex in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, and admission is free. The match also can be seen live on NEC Front Row.
Robert Morris (9-17, 3-8) vs. Saint Francis U
Fri., Nov. 2 (7:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
COMPLETE NOTES PACKAGE: Robert Morris vs. Saint Francis U (Nov. 2, 2018) (PDF)
This will be the 71st all-time* meeting between the intra-state Northeast Conference foes, a series in which RMU has prevailed 60 times. Furthermore, the teams will compete for a charitable cause in this particular matchup.
The Colonials have dubbed Friday their "Dig Pink" match, the first one hosted by RMU since SFU visited the Sewall Center Oct. 3, 2012. Since 2009, the Dig Pink initiative has afforded NEC schools the chance to promote breast cancer awareness and raise funds for research.
On Nov. 3, 2017 the Colonials completed a season sweep of the Red Flash with a dramatic five-set, come-from-behind victory (25-11, 20-25, 16-25, 25-17, 16-14) at the North Athletic Complex, their most recent win in the rivalry and last home meeting.
Robert Morris fell to Saint Francis in four sets in their most recent meeting, Sept. 28 at DeGol Arena in Loretto, Pennsylvania.
Emma Granger and
Alyson Londot delivered ten kills apiece to co-lead the Colonials, and ten different RMU players made at least one in the loss.
*Records from 1981-83; 1985-86 and 1988-89 are missing
Last Time Out
The Colonials won at LIU Brooklyn for the first time since Nov. 22, 2015, their most recent NEC Tournament championship victory, surprising the defending tournament champion in four sets (13-25, 25-23, 27-25, 28-26) at the Steinberg Wellness Center last Saturday.
Whitney Brown managed her fifth double-double of the year (21 assists, 11 digs), and
Megan Cannon added 26 helpers.
Alyssa Hudak hit .350 and matched her season-high with 11 kills.
Including last year's tournament, LIU had not lost to an NEC team since Robert Morris took another four-set decision (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20) at the North Athletic Complex on Oct. 20, 2017, a streak of 18 matches.
Scouting The Opponent
Saint Francis U (4-20, 3-8), like Robert Morris, dropped a five-set duel at St. Francis Brooklyn last weekend, which followed its straight-set defeat by host LIU Brooklyn last Friday. The Red Flash bring a losing streak of four matches into Moon Township, but they also bring a number of talented underclassmen with them, and some with local ties. One of them, junior middle blocker, Week 10 NEC Prime Performer and Coraopolis native Cecilia Esposito, registered 1.12 blocks per set against both Brooklyn-area NEC rivals Oct. 26-27.
MUSKET SHOTS
Wayback Wednesday
The last Dig Pink match at RMU was a rare Wednesday night contest at "The Chuck," in which the Colonials came out on top in five sets (25-19, 17-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-11) over SFU. In the victory, the eighth Wednesday night win in 11 tries during the
Dale Starr era, Lindsey Monger led Robert Morris with 14 kills and 16 digs, her tenth double-double of the 2012 season.
Granger Things, Season 2
Emma Granger ranks fifth in the conference with her .277 attack average, seventh with 0.88 blocks per set and tenth with 2.58 kills per set. Against NEC competition she has hit .276, which is good for seventh, and her 0.96 blocks per set in conference play also rank seventh. Granger was named a Week 10 NEC Prime Performer after leading the Colonials with nine total blocks at LIU Brooklyn last Saturday, one shy of tying her career high.
Only On Net Flicks
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 .267 attack average and ninth with her 0.84 blocks per set. In her last home outing, Oct. 20 against Bryant, she matched her career high with seven total blocks. Clements has averaged 0.85 blocks per set against NEC competition, which unofficially sits tenth entering Friday.
Ace In The Hole
With her second-set ace versus Loyola Sept. 7,
Taylor Lord became the 11th player in RMU history to amass 100 career service aces.
Emma Granger, with an ace in the third at SFBK last Friday, became the 12th, and she is second in the NEC at 0.42 aces per set. The first of two NEC players in the NCAA top-25, Granger ranks 13th in Division I with her 42 aces in 2018. She matched her single match-high six aces the last time she faced Saint Francis U at home.
Lord Have Mercy
Taylor Lord earned her second straight NEC Prime Performer nod after notching her team-best seventh double-double at SFBK (14 kills, season-high 18 digs) and leading Robert Morris with 17 kills at LIU last weekend. Lord has reached double figures in kills in four consecutive Northeast Conference matches, and she has posted double-doubles in three of those four.
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, her best weekend average in NEC play. Brown is third in the NEC with 8.22 assists per set and sixth in RMU lore with 6.47 per set all-time.
Bob-ing For Apples
When Brown collected a career-high 58 assists versus Loyola (Md.) Sept. 7, it tied for the most single-match assists by a Colonial in NCAA volleyball's 25-point era (2008-present) and the fourth-most in a five-set match in team history. Only two other RMU players (Darcey Miller, Tawnya Storino) have ever registered more assists in a five-setter, and the last one with 58 was
Hannah Hoffman versus Bryant Oct. 8, 2011.
A Lot To Un-Pack
Megan Cannon achieved new season highs in assists in each of her last two home matches. She picked up 38 apples and added a personal-best 14 digs against Central Connecticut Oct. 19 for the second double-double of her rookie campaign. Cannon outdid herself Oct. 20 with 49 helpers versus Bryant.
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 dug a career-high 30 attempts versus Bryant Oct. 20, her last home outing. She enters Friday fourth in Robert Morris history with 3.62 digs per set all-time, third in the NEC with 4.27 per set this season and also fourth with 4.93 per set in NEC play. Yurkovich, who has made at least 20 digs in seven of her past eight matches overall, has entered the top five in program history with her 1,628 digs all-time.
Cardiac Colonials
RMU has won five of its eight five-set matches 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 matched their most five-set wins in any single season under
Dale Starr. They went 5-2 in five-setters in 2014, although their best win percentage in five-setters under Starr actually happened in 2015, when they went 3-1 (.750).
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