Volleyball | 9/13/2018 9:24:00 PM
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris volleyball team hosts the 2018 RMU Sheraton Innvitational at the North Athletic Complex in Moon Township, Pennsylvania Friday and Saturday. This weekend, Robert Morris welcomes teams from Eastern Michigan University, the University of Houston, Duquesne University and Purdue University Fort Wayne as it stages an invitational tournament for the 13th straight season and 24th time since 1994.*
The Colonials begin play on Friday versus Eastern Michigan, with first serve against the Eagles slated for 4:00 p.m. EDT. They continue tournament play on Saturday versus Houston and Purdue Fort Wayne, with first serve against the Cougars scheduled for 10:00 a.m. EDT and another 4:00 p.m. EDT first serve against the Mastodons. Admission is free, and all matches can be seen live on NEC Front Row.
Robert Morris (4-7) at the RMU Sheraton Innvitational
Fri., Sept. 14 vs. Eastern Michigan (4:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
Sat., Sept. 15 vs. Houston (10:00 a.m.) - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
Sat., Sept. 15 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (4:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
COMPLETE NOTES PACKAGE: Robert Morris at the RMU Sheraton Innvitational (Sept. 14-15, 2018) (PDF)
This will be the sixth meeting all-time between Robert Morris and Eastern Michigan, with the lone RMU victory coming in five sets on Sept. 18, 2004 at the Cleveland State Tournament. The Colonials seek their first wins over Houston and Purdue Fort Wayne in a combined three all-time meetings, having last seen both opponents in 2006.
*Records from 1981-83; 1985-86 and 1988-89 are missing
Last Time Out
Emma Granger, looking very much like the 6'4" wunderkind who ran away with the 2017 Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year award, powered the Colonials to a four-set flattening (25-23, 25-15, 24-26, 25-15) of Youngstown State at the North Athletic Complex. The sophomore middle blocker matched her career high with 18 kills, attacking at a staggering .567 average, and delivered a match-high five service aces and four total blocks. RMU, as a team, out-hit YSU .313 to .178.
Scouting The Opponents
Eastern Michigan (8-3) ran the table at the William & Mary Colonial Classic in Williamsburg, Virginia last weekend with a Friday sweep of Norfolk State and straight-set wins over Savannah State and the host Tribe on Saturday. Senior outside hitter Jordan Smith was named the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week, while redshirt senior Mallory Rajewski and junior Riley Taylor were collectively named MAC West Setter of the Week. Smith hit .397 and averaged almost 13.0 kills per set for the aforementioned tournament, surpassing 1,000 for her career. Rajewski and Taylor, meanwhile, average 11.80 assists per set and 5.11 digs per set together entering Friday.
Houston (11-1) established a three-match winning streak with a pair of four-set victories over Lamar and Houston Baptist last Saturday to round out its own home tournament, the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup. Junior outside hitter Faith Squier and rookie middle blocker Kendall Haywood were named to the all-tournament team after both hit over .340 for the weekend, with Haywood adding eight solo blocks. Squier, in fact, is attacking .340 for the season, and she averages 1.71 kills per set entering Friday, while Haywood tops the Cougars with 1.11 blocks per set.
Purdue Fort Wayne (7-4) is coming off consecutive victories to close the DePaul Invitational in Chicago last Saturday: a five-setter over Connecticut followed by a four-set win over the host Blue Demons. Senior outside hitter Nicole Rightnowar finished with 12 kills in the finale. The Mastodons own a 3-1 decision over Eastern Michigan Sept. 4 in which Rightnowar became the ninth player in team history to record 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. Her 1,286 career kills put her eighth among all active Division I players entering Friday.
MUSKET SHOTS
The Ready-For-Prime-Time Players
Alyson Londot and
Whitney Brown were named NEC Prime Performers for Week 3. Londot recorded double-digit kills in three straight Robert Morris victories, and for the fourth time in a span of five matches. Brown, with her career-high 58 assists versus Loyola (Md.) Sept. 7, 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.
Lord Have Mercy
Taylor Lord achieved her team-leading third double-double of the season versus Loyola Sept. 7 with 15 kills and 14 digs. She registered 14 digs the last time she faced Eastern Michigan, on Aug. 25, 2017 in the Butler Bulldog Brawl in Indianapolis, and her eight versus Youngstown State Tuesday gave her 1,205 all-time, putting her past
Erica Robb '15 for tenth in program history.
Righteous In-Dig-Nation
Allie Yurkovich led the Colonials with a season-high 21 digs versus YSU Tuesday, lifting her career total to 1,336. She recorded 44 during the Charm City Challenge Sept. 7-8, just shy of the team-high 45 made on the weekend by
Nikolette Zanolli. This allowed Yurkovich to surpass Lindsey Monger '13 and Megan Bell '06 to land at seventh on the Robert Morris career chart. Yurkovich enters Friday fifth all-time in program history with 3.43 digs per set all-time, just ahead of Lord (3.37), and sixth in the NEC with 3.47 per set this season. The Colonials, as a team, are second in the NEC with 14.88 digs per set.
Throwback Thursday
The Colonials ended their last home tournament in bittersweet fashion on Sept. 16, 2017. They rolled past Rutgers in straight sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-21) for their first win ever over a Big Ten program, doing so in the last Division I sporting event ever at the Charles L. Sewall Center for Leadership, a.k.a. "the Chuck." The home of RMU's volleyball program since 1985 was razed during the Fall 2017 school term to make room for the UPMC Events Center, scheduled to open for the start of the 2019 season.
Flashback Friday
When Robert Morris last hosted Purdue Fort Wayne in its home tournament, Sept. 1, 2006, Emily Wolthuis led the Colonials with a double-double of 13 kills and 13 digs. Wolthuis would go on to finish third in team history with 1,351 career kills. Janette Schneider added 11 kills and four total blocks, and she currently ranks fifth in RMU lore with 414 total blocks all-time. Wolthuis also led the team in kills, with nine, the last time it met Houston, on Aug. 27, 2006 at the Towson Invitational in Baltimore.
The Gr8 One
Emma Granger had four kills and hit .375 in her lone set against EMU last season. Only four players in RMU history have averaged better than 3.00 kills per set for their careers, and No. 8 for Robert Morris enters Friday sixth in program history with 2.74 per set. Only four in RMU history have averaged more than 1.00 block per set for their careers, for that matter, and Granger is seventh at 0.95, while her team is among the Northeast Conference's top three in team blocks per set, with 1.80.
Native Whit
Pittsburgh-born
Whitney Brown ranks fourth in the NEC with 7.85 assists per set. She leads all active Colonials and ranks sixth in program history with a career average of 5.38 assists per set. Brown picked up 16 apples, also adding four digs, in two sets played in her last outing against Eastern Michigan.
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. She ranks seventh in school history with 0.28 aces per set.
Emma Granger comes into the Sheraton Innvitational as the RMU career leader with 0.49 per set.
Whitney Brown is in the NEC's top six with 0.36 aces per set, and her career-high five at UMBC Sept. 7 made her the sixth different Robert Morris player to record that many in a five-set match. Brown was responsible for both Colonials aces the last time they faced Eastern Michigan. Robert Morris averages 1.39 aces per set, good for third in the NEC.
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