Volleyball | 10/29/2019 11:21:00 AM
Moon Township, Pa. – After a rare off week, the
Robert Morris University volleyball team returns to the court for the first time in 11 days by kicking off a three-match week at Saint Francis U on Wednesday, Oct. 30. This match serves as this season's Dig Pink Match, which gives NEC schools the chance to promote breast cancer awareness and raise funds for research.
MATCH #23
Robert Morris Colonials (19-3, 9-0 NEC) @ Saint Francis U Red Flash (3-18, 3-6 NEC)
Wednesday, October 30, 2019 // 7:00 p.m. // Loretto, Pa. – DeGol Arena
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: SFUAthletics.com
Know Bobby Mo
> Robert Morris has a lot of experience on its roster with 11 players featuring in last season's side, but does not have a senior 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.
> If the Colonials are able to win at Saint Francis U, they would establish a new program record for best NEC start at 10-0. RMU's current 9-0 league mark has been matched twice by the 1999 and 2002 sides. Those two teams finished the conference slate unbeaten, along with the 1993 (7-0), 2003 (8-0), 2004 (8-0), and 2008 (8-0) teams.
> With its next win, RMU will achieve its first 20-win season since 2004 (23-9). The Colonials have previously won 20 or more games in 1984 (21-25-2), 1992 (20-17), 2000 (21-16), 2001 (30-7), 2002 (27-12), and 2003 (23-12).
> Emma Granger is on the cusp of history, needing just two service aces to break the program record of 161. That number was set by 2001 RMU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Kristie Tuxford from 1992-95.
> Last week,
Emma Granger established a new single-season program record for
Molten/NEC Player of the Week awards with her fourth. Granger, who has 12
Molten/NEC weekly awards in her career, averaged 3.60 kills, 1.50 blocks, and 0.70 service aces per set, and hit at a .354 clip over a three-win week. She began the stretch with 14 kills, three service aces, and three blocks (one solo) at Merrimack, then followed that up by tallying 15 kills on a .583 hitting percentage with eight blocks (two solo) and a pair of service aces at Central Connecticut. Despite hitting a season-low .143 at St. Francis Brooklyn, Granger managed to record her 23rd straight double-digit scoring performance of 11.0 off seven kills, four block assists, and two service aces.
> In addition to her serving prowess,
Emma Granger has excellent in other areas as well. She ranks fourth all-time at RMU in hitting percentage (.329) and block assists (281), and seventh in total blocks (325).
> Whitney Brown is the ninth player in program history to register 1,500 assists in a career, now having 1,659 to her name. She ranks eighth all-time in that category at RMU, 394 helpers away from passing Alyssa Bennett (2008-09) for the next spot on the leaderboard.
> RMU has dominated this season's
Molten/NEC weekly awards, collecting 10 of 19 Player and Defensive Player of the Week honors. Granger has six accolades to her name this season, earning top player honors on Sept. 9, Sept. 16, Oct. 14, and Oct. 21, 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' 19 wins are tied for the ninth most nationally and are five more than the next NEC team (Bryant, 14-13) 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 Oct. 18 at Merrimack, it held the Warriors to a hitting percentage of negative .023. This is the first time since the 2004 season that the Colonials have forced their opponent into more errors than kills on three separate occasions.
> 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 97-44 (.688) conference record and 150-158 (.487) 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 four wins shy of 300 for his career, collecting 296 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 (2.89)
> 1st in NEC, 13th in NCAA in opponent hitting percentage (.146)
> 1st in NEC, 13th in NCAA in win-loss percentage (.864)
> 1st in NEC, 16th in NCAA in service aces per set (1.78)
> 1st in NEC, 33rd in NCAA in digs per set (16.78)
> 1st in NEC in hitting percentage (.242)
> 1st in NEC in assists per set (11.75)
> 2nd in NEC in kills per set (13.11)
Individual Rankings
Emma Granger:
> 1st in NEC, 4th in NCAA in service aces per set (0.61)
> 1st in NEC, 7th in NCAA in blocks per set (1.47)
> 1st in NEC in hitting percentage (.367)
> 4th in NEC in kills per set (3.05)
Nikolette Zanolli:
> 1st in NEC, 33rd in NCAA in digs per set (4.95)
Whitney Brown:
> 1st in NEC in assists per set (9.93)
Maria Alfano:
> 2nd in NEC, 42nd in NCAA in blocks per set (1.27)
> 4th in NEC in hitting percentage (.352)
> 8th in NEC in kills per set (2.70)
Allena Carmody:
> 3rd in NEC in service aces per set (0.39)
Emily Devlin:
> 8th in NEC in blocks per set (0.80)
Lauren Kolenik:
> 7th in NEC in kills per set (2.88)
Alyssa Hudak:
> 10th in hitting percentage (.247)
Last Time Out
Robert Morris opened a three-match week on Oct. 17 with a straight-sets victory at Merrimack (25-14, 25-19, 25-8). It marked a season sweep over the conference newcomer Warriors, and marked the sixth three-set win for the Colonials in league play.
The hosts were given a steady dose of
Emma Granger and
Alyssa Hudak, as the duo combined for 24 of RMU's 34 kills. Granger garnered a game-high 14 on a .370 hitting percentage, while Hudak hit .375 with 10 kills, and picked up her first two service aces of the season.
Megan Cannon dished out 30 assists after getting the start at setter.
The next day, the Colonials bounced back from an opening-set loss to defeat Central Connecticut in four frames (18-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-16). RMU snapped a four-match losing streak against the Blue Devils, who swept the Colonials in both 2017 and 2018.
Whitney Brown (55a, 10d) and
Lauren Kolenik (14k, 15d) both posted double-doubles, while both
Emma Granger and
Maria Alfano converted more than half of their attack opportunities at .583 and .545, respectively. In addition to Brown and Kolenik,
Nikolette Zanolli (16),
Erika Wilt (15), and
Allena Carmody (13) all reached double figures in digs.
RMU completed a sweep of the week with a three-set triumph at St. Francis Brooklyn (25-21, 25-22, 25-20) on Oct. 19. The Colonials fell behind in the closing stages of the first and second frames, but used rallies of 6-0 and 8-2 to come away with their ninth NEC win.
Alfano led the way with 12 kills on a .357 hitting percentage and four blocks (one solo). Carmody served three aces and was one of four players with double-digit digs (14), while Brown quarterbacked the attack with 31 assists.
History Lesson
Robert Morris has dominated the all-time series with Saint Francis U, owning a 62-10 lead against its in-state rival. The teams split the season series last year with each winning at home, but prior to that the Colonials had won 19 straight with the last loss coming in Moon Township during the 2008 NEC Tournament.
RMU swept the Red Flash on Oct. 9 by scores of 25-20, 25-12, 25-12. The Colonials' 11th consecutive home win in the series came thanks to a .281 hitting percentage and eight service aces offensively, and eight total team blocks on the defensive end.
Emma Granger led the hosts with 18.0 points, tallying 10 kills on a .533 hitting percentage, seven blocks (one solo), and four service aces.
Lauren Kolenik hit .407 with a team-high 13 kills, and Whitey Brown dished out 27 assists to go along with four kills and four block assists.
Know Your Opponents
Saint Francis U is currently sixth in the NEC with a 3-6 mark, owning a pair of victories over Merrimack (3-1, 3-0) and a 3-1 home triumph against Fairleigh Dickinson.
The Red Flash are in the bottom three of every statistical category, with its highest mark of seventh coming in hitting percentage (.138), assists (9.18), kills (9.72), and service aces (1.24). SFU also ranks eighth in opponent hitting percentage (.266), blocks (1.35), and digs (12.47).
Sophomore outside hitter Madi Tyus leads the NEC in kills (4.00), while classmate Nicole Adams comes in at ninth (2.68). Adams also ranks fifth in service aces (0.36) and Tyus is eighth in digs (3.13). The Red Flash's two-setter rotation sees junior Shannon Thomas slot third in assists (7.80) and sophomore Kimmy Sweeney rank sixth (6.59).
Coming Up
After spending four matches away from the UPMC Events Center, Robert Morris returns home for four straight, beginning this weekend against Bryant and Sacred Heart. The Colonials host the 9-2 Bulldogs on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7:00 p.m., then welcome the 8-2 Pioneers at 5:00 p.m. the next day.
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