Moon Township, Pa. – For the second time this season, the Robert Morris University volleyball team held its opponent to single digits in two sets, limiting Fairleigh Dickinson to just 28 total points in a three-set sweep (25-8, 25-11, 25-9) this evening in Northeast Conference (NEC) action from the UPMC Events Center.
Robert Morris' (15-3, 5-0 NEC) dominance was a repeat of Sept. 27, when it held Merrimack to single digits twice in a three-set victory (25-17, 25-6, 25-9). This is the first time in the 25-point era that the Colonials have accomplished that feat twice in a season, and the first time since 2007 that they have held a pair of opponents to negative hitting percentages, as Fairleigh Dickinson (1-18, 0-5 NEC) hit at a -.041 clip on 97 swings.
The Colonials needed just an hour and seven minutes to dispose of the Knights, using rallies of 14-0 in the first set, 13-4 in the middle frame, and 12-1 in the final stanza. RMU hit .293 as a team over 99 swings, served up 11 aces, dug out 59 attacks, and posted 7.0 total team blocks.
Emma Granger led the hosts with 10.5 points, tallying seven kills, three service aces, and a block assist. Granger now is nine aces away from breaking the program record, as she moved into sole possession of third place with tonight's performance.
Nikolette Zanolli (15), Erika Wilt (13), and Allena Carmody (12) all reached double-figures for digs, with Zanolli matching Granger's team-best service ace total of three. Maria Alfano led the block brigade with five (one solo), and Alyssa Hudak collected a team-leading nine kills.
Down 11-3 in the opening set, FDU rattled off five straight points to pull within four. An error sent Granger back to serve, and she immediately went to work with an ace. Two blocks and an attack error made it 16-8, then Whitney Brown found the floor to force a Knights timeout.
Granger followed the break with back-to-back aces, then Hudak buried a kill to extend the advantage to 20-8. Three more FDU errors made it 12 consecutive points for the Colonials, and the run ended at 14 with Alfano and Hudak kills that finished the frame off.
In the final stanza, the Knights trimmed the gap to 11-6 before RMU ripped off a 12-1 rally. Alfano got it started with a kill and solo rejection, then Whitney Brown fired an ace. FDU called a timeout after an Emily Devlin solo block, but it committed a pair of errors and gave up a Hudak kill before briefly halting the run.
Erika Wilt rotated into the serving spot after an error and greeted the Knights back line with an ace. Skylar Clements then registered three straight kills, followed by a mishit by the visitors. Wilt served up another ace to make it match point, which the Colonials achieved with a FDU attack error.
RMU is now 7-0 this season at the UPMC Events Center, dropping a total of three sets over that timeframe.
The Colonials' 5-0 NEC start is the 10th of its kind, and the first since 2014 (6-0). That group includes the league-unbeaten 1993 (7-0), 1999 (9-0), 2002 (9-0), 2003 (8-0), 2004 (8-0), and 2008 (8-0) sides, with the 2000 (6-0), 2001 (5-0), and 2012 (5-0) teams also matching that number.
Tonight's match served as Dating & Domestic Violence Awareness Night. RMU collected donations through a toiletry drive for the Women's Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, rattled off various prize baskets, and asked fans throughout the week what is the #1Thing they could do to end dating and domestic violence.
Robert Morris closes a three-match home stand tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. against Long Island in a battle of the remaining conference unbeaten teams. The newly-rebranded Sharks are 4-0 in the NEC after capturing the regular-season title last season at 12-2.
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