Volleyball | 9/4/2018 12:22:00 AM
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris volleyball team opens the home portion of its 2018 schedule when it welcomes the Golden Flashes of Kent State University Tuesday night. First serve from the North Athletic Complex in Moon Township, Pennsylvania is set for 7:00 p.m. EDT. Admission is free, and the match can be seen live on NEC Front Row.
Robert Morris (0-6) vs. Kent State
Tue., Sept. 4 (7:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
COMPLETE NOTES PACKAGE: Robert Morris vs. Kent State (Sept. 4, 2018) (PDF)
RMU is looking for its third win in the all-time series as the Golden Flashes make their first known visit to western Pennsylvania since 1991.* The Colonials have defeated them twice previously in their home tournament, on Sept. 7, 2001 in five sets and on Sept. 10, 2005 with a sweep in the Kent State Invitational in Kent, Ohio.
Kent State took a straight-set victory from visiting Robert Morris on Sept. 6, 2016, the last meeting between these teams.
Leah Dunivan led the Colonials with ten kills on a .529 attack average and four total blocks, and
Brianna Frakes recorded a double-double with 15 assists and ten digs.
Prior to earning his Master of Science degree in Instructional Leadership from Robert Morris in 2015, assistant coach
Danny Doherty earned his bachelor's degree in Interpersonal Communication from Kent State in 2010.
* Records from 1981-83; 1985-86 and 1988-90 are missing
Last Time Out
Against Virginia Tech, the only Power 5 opponent on its regular season schedule, the Colonials seized eight of the first ten points on Saturday and ambushed the Hokie Invitational hosts in the opening set, marking the first time all weekend the undefeated Hokies (6-0) conceded a game. Although Virginia Tech rallied to take the next three, former Seneca Valley High School teammates
Maria Alfano and
Emily Devlin held their own with seven kills apiece, and Alfano was named to the all-tournament team.
On Friday, Robert Morris began its trip to Blacksburg, Virginia by falling to Campbell and William & Mary in four sets each, despite
Taylor Lord's second double-double of the season and the first in the career of rookie setter
Megan Cannon.
Scouting The Opponent
Kent State (5-2) is coming off back-to-back wins as host of the Golden Flashes Classic: a four-set victory over Morgan State and a straight-set result over Niagara last Saturday. Senior outside hitter Darby Connors and rookie middle blocker Danie Tyson were named to the all-tournament team. Connors led the Golden Flashes with 24 kills (3.43 per set) and a .316 hitting percentage. Tyson added 21 kills (3.00 per set) while hitting .500 and finished with six total blocks.
About Robert Morris
RMU was picked third in the 2018 NEC Preseason Poll, and it was one of four to receive a first-place vote. One of the most successful teams at Robert Morris and in the Northeast Conference, the volleyball program has won six NEC regular-season championships, including four straight from 2001-2004. The Colonials have also won eight NEC Tournament titles, including five straight from 1999-2003. Robert Morris reached the NCAA Tournament following each of those five NEC Tournament championships, and again in 2015.
MUSKET SHOTS
You Stay Classy
Both teams received 2017-18 AVCA Team Awards. The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 term, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that maintained at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 team GPA on a 5.0 scale. Kent State has won six in a row, while RMU has won them back-to-back for the second time under
Dale Starr (2010-11, 2011-12). Its 3.727 team GPA in 2017-18 was the highest of the Starr era.
Better The Devlin You Know
Emily Devlin won a district championship at Seneca Valley with current teammate
Maria Alfano, and both made the all-section team as high school seniors. Devlin hit .400 for the Hokie Invitational, and her .467 attack average and seven aforementioned kills against Virginia Tech on Saturday were both season highs.
Ave Maria
Alfano hit .308 for the Hokie Invitational, recording 25 total kills and eight total blocks to attain her all-tournament team selection. Her 11 kills versus Campbell on Friday marked her 12th career match with double-digit kills, and four of her five digs on the weekend also came Friday, against William & Mary, which equalled her career high.
Can You Dig It?
Allie Yurkovich tied her season high with 16 digs versus William & Mary on Friday, and she enters the home opener ranked sixth in program history with a career average of 3.42 digs per set. Yurkovich recorded a match-high 18 digs when she faced the Golden Flashes as a sophomore, and with 1,264 for her career, she needs 26 more to catch Lindsey Monger '13 for eighth on the RMU all-time chart.
Granger Things
Emma Granger led the Colonials and ranked ninth in the Northeast Conference with 2.92 kills per set as the NEC's 2017 Rookie of the Year and fourth in RMU history. Only four players in program history have finished their careers averaging 3.00 kills per set or better, and Granger enters this weekend in a virtual tie with
Arden Fisher for fifth on the all-time chart with 2.79 per frame. She ranks first all-time in career aces per set (0.48) and seventh in blocks per set (0.95) entering Tuesday. Granger averaged 2.97 kills per set, 0.59 aces per set and 0.87 blocks per set in home matches as a rookie.
Londot Calling
Alyson Londot made 14 digs at Virginia Tech Saturday and led the Colonials with nine kills. She picked up her first double-double of 2018 against William & Mary Friday with ten digs and a team-high 12 kills. It was her first since Oct. 14, 2017 at Central Connecticut. The first six double-doubles of her RMU career came in preseason tournaments.
Don't Hassle Me, I'm Local
The offseason transfer of Serra Catholic product
Lauren Kolenik from Eastern Kentucky University gives the Colonials five WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) alumnae on their 2018 roster. Although Kolenik is taking a medical redshirt for the 2018 season, the five former WPIAL players are the most on any of
Dale Starr's RMU teams.
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