Volleyball | 10/16/2019 2:04:00 PM
Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University volleyball team starts its second consecutive three-match week, bringing its unbeaten 6-0 NEC record on the road for a trio of matches from Oct. 17-19.
The Colonials open up on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 6:00 p.m. against Merrimack, then take on Central Connecticut (Friday, Oct. 18 at 7:00 p.m.) and St. Francis Brooklyn (Saturday, Oct. 19 at 4:00 p.m.) for the first times this season.
MATCH #20
Robert Morris Colonials (16-3, 6-0 NEC) @ Merrimack Warriors (1-12, 0-6 NEC)
Thursday, October 17, 2019 // 6:00 p.m. // North Andover, Mass. – Hammel Court
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: MerrimackAthletics.com
MATCH #21
Robert Morris Colonials (16-3, 6-0 NEC) @ Central Connecticut Blue Devils (7-11, 3-3 NEC)
Friday, October 18, 2019 // 7:00 p.m. // New Britain, Conn. – Detrick Gymnasium
Live Video: N/A // Live Stats: CCSUBlueDevils.com
MATCH #22
Robert Morris Colonials (16-3, 6-0 NEC) @ St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (8-11, 2-3 NEC)
Saturday, October 19, 2019 // 4:00 p.m. // Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. – Genovesi Center
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: SFCAthletics.com
Know Bobby Mo
> Robert Morris returns a lot of experience with 11 players featuring in last season's side, but does not have a senior on its roster for the first time since 2013. The Colonials have 13 players in all on this year's squad – seven juniors, five sophomores (one redshirt sophomore), and one freshman.
> The Colonials moved to 6-0 in the NEC with three wins at home last week. This is the ninth time overall and first time since 2014 (6-0) that RMU has begun the league slate with six straight wins. That group includes the NEC-unbeaten 1993 (7-0), 1999 (9-0), 2002 (9-0), 2003 (8-0), 2004 (8-0), and 2008 (8-0) sides, along with the 2000 (6-0) team.
> Emma Granger tied the single-season program record for
Molten/NEC Player of the Week awards, winning her third on Monday. Granger, who now has 11
Molten/NEC weekly awards in her career, averaged 3.33 kills, 1.11 blocks, and 0.78 service aces per set, and hit at a .480 clip over 50 swings. She opened the week with 10 kills on a .533 hitting percentage, four service aces, and seven blocks (one solo) in a three-set romp of Saint Francis U. Three days later, the junior converted at a .667 clip with 13 kills as RMU swept Long Island in a battle of the league's remaining undefeated teams.
> One of the most well-rounded players in school history,
Emma Granger ranks third all-time at RMU in service aces (153), fourth in hitting percentage (.328), fifth in block assists (268), and seventh in total blocks (310). Granger is nine service aces shy of breaking the program record of 161, set by 2001 RMU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Kristie Tuxford (1992-95).
> Emma Granger fired four service aces in the victory over the Red Flash, reaching the 150-ace mark for her career. That tied her for third all-time at RMU, and puts her 12 shy of breaking the school record of 161, set by 2001 RMU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Kristie Tuxford (1992-95).
> Whitney Brown is the ninth player in program history to register 1,500 assists in a career, now having 1,574 to her name. She ranks ninth all-time in that category at RMU, 64 helpers away from passing Karen Zimmerly (1991-93) for eighth place on the leaderboard.
> RMU has dominated the this season's
Molten/NEC weekly awards, collecting nine of 16 Player and Defensive Player of the Week honors. Granger has five accolades to her name this season, earning top player honors on Sept. 9, Sept. 16, and Oct. 14, along with defensive plaudits on Sept. 16 and Oct. 7.
Whitney Brown is a two-time recipient of Player of the Week (Sept. 3, Oct. 7), while
Maria Alfano (Sept. 3) and
Nikolette Zanolli (Sept. 9) each have a Defensive Player of the Week award to their names.
> RMU was one of the eight remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division I volleyball before suffering its first defeat. The Colonials' 16 wins are tied for the sixth most nationally and are five more than the next NEC team (Bryant, 11-13) has.
> The Colonials' 10-0 start was the second of its kind in athletic department history. Shattering the previous program record for best start at 5-0 (1987), RMU's 10-0 mark matched the 2000 football team for the top spot in department annals. Only five Colonial volleyball teams (1987, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2019) started a season with a 3-0 record, with three of those squads (2001, 203, 2008) capturing either the NEC regular-season title, tournament title, or both.
> In RMU's match on Sept. 27 against Merrimack, it held the Warriors to single digits in the second and third frames (25-17, 25-6, 25-9), accomplishing that feat for the first time since Nov. 12, 2011 against Quinnipiac. Additionally, it also marked the first time since then – and the 10th time since 2004 – that the Colonials hit over .400 in a match as they converted at a .405 clip on 79 swings.
> Dale Starr is in his 10th season in charge of the Colonials. The 1995 graduate of Northern Colorado has led RMU to seven NEC Tournaments, a pair of league runner-up finishes, the 2015 NEC Tournament title and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth. Starr has and 94-44 (.681) conference record and 147-158 (.482) mark overall at RMU, and seen his players earn 16 All-NEC nods – nine of those being First Team plaudits. For his career, he is seven wins shy of 300 for his career, collecting 293 across three coaching stops (Robert Morris, McNeese, Mississippi University for Women).
> Starr's squads have excelled in the classroom, and last year's was no different. Robert Morris won its second straight NEC Team GPA Award – the program's sixth overall under Starr's watch – with a mark of 3.846, which was the highest for any NEC team since 2014-15, male or female. The Colonials were the recipients of the NEC Institutional Academic Award with a cumulative GPA of 3.432, which was the athletic department's third such accolade and first since 2014.
Team Rankings
> 1st in NEC, 9th in NCAA in blocks per set (2.88)
> 1st in NEC, 9th in NCAA in opponent hitting percentage (.145)
> 1st in NEC, 18th in NCAA in service aces per set (1.76)
> 1st in NEC, 19th in NCAA in win-loss percentage (.842)
> 1st in NEC, 35th in NCAA in digs per set (16.47)
> 1st in NEC in hitting percentage (.241)
> 1st in NEC in assists per set (11.65)
> 1st in NEC in kills per set (12.98)
Individual Rankings
Emma Granger:
> 1st in NEC, 5th in NCAA in service aces per set (0.59)
> 1st in NEC, 9th in NCAA in blocks per set (1.47)
> 2nd in NEC in hitting percentage (.369)
> 5th in NEC in kills per set (2.97)
Nikolette Zanolli:
> 1st in NEC, 31st in NCAA in digs per set (4.98)
Whitney Brown:
> 1st in NEC in assists per set (9.66)
Maria Alfano:
> 2nd in NEC, 40th in NCAA in blocks per set (1.27)
> 3rd in NEC in hitting percentage (.339)
> 10th in NEC in kills per set (2.58)
Allena Carmody:
> 3rd in NEC in service aces per set (0.38)
Emily Devlin:
> 4th in NEC in blocks per set (0.85)
Lauren Kolenik:
> 7th in NEC in kills per set (2.87)
Erika Wilt:
> 10th in NEC in digs per set (2.95)
Last Time Out
Robert Morris followed up its three-set win over Saint Francis U with another last Friday, limiting Fairleigh Dickinson to just 28 total points (25-8, 25-11, 25-9) in a dominant performance. This marked the first time in the 25-point era that the Colonials have held multiple opponents to single digits in two sets (Merrimack, Sept. 27).
The Colonials limited the Knights to a -.041 hitting percentage on 97 swings and used rallies of 14-0 in the first set, 13-4 in the middle frame, and 12-1 in the final stanza to come away with the win. RMU hit .293 on 99 swings offensively, served up 11 aces, dug out 59 attacks, and posted 7.0 total team blocks.
In a battle of the NEC's unbeaten teams the next day, the Colonials were victorious with a three-set sweep of Long Island (25-22, 25-17, 25-21). RMU pulled even in the all-time series with the newly-rebranded Sharks, thanks to comeback surges of 10-4 in the first set and 12-3 in the second.
The Colonials hit .322 as a team, led by
Emma Granger's .667 mark. Granger tallied a team-high 13 kills, one of three players (
Lauren Kolenik,
Maria Alfano) in double figures.
Whitney Brown posted her seventh double-double of the season with 39 assists and 10 digs, while
Nikolette Zanolli completed a strong week with a match-leading 21 digs.
History Lesson
Robert Morris is 1-0 against Merrimack, taking home a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-6, 25-9) in this year's NEC opener. The Colonials hit at a .405 clip, with
Lauren Kolenik (14) and
Alyssa Hudak (11) each reaching double-digit kills, and held the Warriors to a negative hitting percentage (-.011). Hudak converted at an eye-popping .786 mark, while Kolenik connected at a .393 rate with five digs, two service aces, and two blocks to fill the stat sheet.
RMU owns a 22-15 edge over Central Connecticut in the all-time series, but the Blue Devils are riding a four-match winning streak with season sweeps in 2017 and 2018. The Colonials' last win against CCSU came on Oct. 22, 2016, a road triumph in four sets (25-22, 17-25, 25-18, 28-26). Both
Arden Fisher (17k, 31d) and
Taylor Lord (10k, 18d) posted double-doubles in that match, while
Leah Dunivan tallied 12 kills and seven blocks (one solo).
After splitting the last two season series, RMU's advantage over St. Francis Brooklyn in their histories is now 38-3. The Colonials were victorious against the Terriers at home last year, knocking them off in four sets (25-20, 25-22, 14-25, 25-17).
Emma Granger collected 10 kills, four service aces, and four blocks (one solo), while
Taylor Lord finished a dig shy of a double-double with a match-high 16 kills.
Know Your Opponents
Merrimack is one of two NEC teams (Fairleigh Dickinson) still searching for its first conference win, as it sits at 1-12 overall and 0-6 in league play.
Senior setter Rosie Sperduto ranks sixth on the circuit in assists (6.35) and freshman libero Taelyr Czech slots eighth in digs (3.05). Fourth-year outside hitter Catherine Flaherty leads the Warriors offensively with 2.42 kills per set, while freshman middle hitter Lily Blodgett averages a team-best 0.55 blocks per frame.
Merrimack ranks at the bottom of the NEC in every statistical category, except for service aces, where it slots seventh (1.07). The Warriors come in at ninth in hitting percentage (.095), opponent hitting percentage (.325), assists (7.73), kills (8.39), blocks (0.88), and digs (9.59).
Central Connecticut is fifth in the NEC with a 3-3 mark, and owns a 7-11 record overall. The Blue Devils won three straight matches from Sept. 28 to Oct. 5 against Fairleigh Dickinson, Merrimack, and St. Francis Brooklyn, and have losses to Long Island (2-3), Sacred Heart (1-3), and Bryant (2-3).
CCSU has three players ranked in the conference top 10 in blocks: Gala Galabova (0.88, 3rd), Isabelle Roufs (0.75, 7th), and Madelyn Kaprelyan (0.71, 10th). Rouf, a freshman, also slots sixth in hitting percentage (.325), while junior libero Ashlyn Eisenga is third on the circuit in digs (4.28). Third-year outside hitter Emma Henderson is eighth in the NEC in kills (2.72), and senior setter Erin McDermott's 5.59 assists per set are the ninth most in the league.
The Blue Devils are in the top half of the NEC in every statistical category but one, ranking sixth in service aces (1.17). CCSU is second in hitting percentage (.219), opponent hitting percentage (.189), and blocks (1.92), third in digs (14.80), and fourth in both assists (11.06) and kills (11.66).
St. Francis Brooklyn is sixth in the NEC standings with a 2-3 record, and carries an 8-11 overall mark into this weekend. The Terriers have beaten Fairleigh Dickinson (3-0) and Merrimack (3-0), and dropped league bouts to Sacred Heart (2-3), Bryant (2-3), and Central Connecticut (0-3).
Senior middle blocker Wies Hurkmans leads the conference in hitting percentage (.409) and ranks eighth in blocks (0.75). Sophomore libero Kizzy Rodriguez is currently the league's runner-up in digs (4.35), while second-year setter Angelee Ng is fourth in assists (7.29). Junior opposite hitter Ally Speweik is fourth in the NEC in hitting percentage (.328), and senior middle blocker Taris Pittman ranks eighth in that category (.266).
St. Francis Brooklyn is in the top half to middle of the NEC in every statistical mark, with its highest ranking of third coming in hitting percentage (.203) and blocks (1.81). The Terriers are also fourth in service aces (1.36) and digs (14.78), and fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.220), assists (10.83), and kills (11.65).
Coming Up
Robert Morris will enjoy a rare off week next weekend before returning to the court on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at Saint Francis U. That match kicks off another three-match week, with Bryant (Friday, Oct. 1) and Sacred Heart (Saturday, Oct. 2) making their first trips to the UPMC Events Center.
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