Volleyball | 10/31/2019 3:30:00 PM
Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team returns home to begin a four-match stretch at the UPMC Events Center, beginning this weekend with a pair that have Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament implications.
The Colonials will first welcome Bryant to their new home on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7:00 p.m. before facing Sacred Heart at 5:00 p.m. the next day. RMU and its 10-0 unbeaten NEC record lead the Bulldogs (9-2) by one-and-a-half games and the Pioneers (8-2) by two.
MATCH #24
Bryant Bulldogs (14-13, 9-2 NEC) @ Robert Morris Colonials (20-3, 10-0 NEC)
Friday, November 1, 2019 // 7:00 p.m. // Moon Township, Pa. – UPMC Events Center
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: RMUColonials.com
MATCH #25
Sacred Heart Pioneers (13-10, 8-2 NEC) @ Robert Morris Colonials (20-3, 10-0 NEC)
Saturday, November 2, 2019 // 5:00 p.m. // Moon Township, Pa. – UPMC Events Center
Live Video: NEC Front Row // Live Stats: RMUColonials.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.
> For the first time in 15 seasons, RMU has 20 wins to its name, achieving the feat with a three-set triumph at Saint Francis U on Wednesday. The Colonials last won 20 matches in 2004 (23-9) and this is now the eighth 20-win season in program history, joining the 1984 (21-25-2), 1992 (20-17), 2000 (21-16), 2001 (30-7), 2002 (27-12), and 2003 (23-12) sides.
> The Colonials' win over their in-state rivals also established a new program record for best NEC start at 10-0. RMU's previously 9-0 mark was matched by the 1999 and 2002 sides. Those two teams finished the conference slate unbeaten, along with the 1993 (7-0), 2003 (8-0), and 2008 (8-0) teams. Four more victories would set a new single-season record for most NEC wins, originally achieved by the 2010 (13-3) and 2012 (13-3) teams.
> Emma Granger is on the cusp of history, as she now shares the program record for service aces. One more ace will break the deadlock of 161, originally set by 2001 RMU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Kristie Tuxford (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 third all-time at RMU in hitting percentage (.332), fourth in block assists (284), and seventh in total blocks (329). Her running mate at middle blocker, Maria Alfano, recently moved into 10th all-time in block assists with 210, and is 28 total blocks shy of breaking into the top 10 of that category.
> Whitney Brown is the ninth player in program history to register 1,500 assists in a career, now having 1,686 to her name. She ranks eighth all-time in that category at RMU, 367 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' 20 wins are tied for the eighth most nationally and are six 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 98-44 (.690) conference record and 151-158 (.489) 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 297 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, 8th in NCAA in blocks per set (2.90)
> 1st in NEC, 9th in NCAA in opponent hitting percentage (.144)
> 1st in NEC, 10th in NCAA in service aces per set (1.81)
> 1st in NEC, 13th in NCAA in win-loss percentage (.870)
> 1st in NEC, 38th in NCAA in digs per set (16.56)
> 1st in NEC, 49th in NCAA in hitting percentage (.245)
> 2nd in NEC in assists per set (11.73)
> 2nd in NEC in kills per set (13.05)
Individual Rankings
Emma Granger:
> 1st in NEC, 5th in NCAA in service aces per set (0.59)
> 1st in NEC, 7th in NCAA in blocks per set (1.47)
> 1st in NEC, 43rd in NCAA in hitting percentage (.378)
> 4th in NEC in kills per set (3.10)
Nikolette Zanolli:
> 1st in NEC, 40th in NCAA in digs per set (4.89)
> 9th in NEC in service aces per set (0.29)
Whitney Brown:
> 1st in NEC in assists per set (9.89)
Maria Alfano:
> 2nd in NEC, 40th in NCAA in blocks per set (1.27)
> 3rd in NEC in hitting percentage (.357)
> 9th in NEC in kills per set (2.70)
Allena Carmody:
> 3rd in NEC in service aces per set (0.38)
Emily Devlin:
> 5th in NEC in blocks per set (0.85)
Lauren Kolenik:
> 7th in NEC in kills per set (2.72)
Alyssa Hudak:
> 10th in NEC in hitting percentage (.250)
Last Time Out
Robert Morris finished off a four-match road swing with a three-set victory at Saint Francis U (25-15, 25-14, 25-14) on Wednesday night. Despite playing for the first time in 11 days, the Colonials showed little rust and extended their run to 30 of 32 sets won in NEC play.
RMU hit over .300 for the sixth time this season at .354 and held the Red Flash to a .079 hitting percentage. Emma Granger converted at a career-best .706 rate with 13 kills and posted four blocks (one solo), while Maria Alfano and Alyssa Hudak hit .500 and .319, respectively. For Hudak, that was the fourth time in the last five matches she has been over the .300 mark.
Defensively, Emily Devlin paced the team with five block assists and Nikolette Zanolli collected a team-best 10 digs. Zanolli also served four of the Colonials' eight aces, with Whitney Brown adding three to go along with 27 assists.
History Lesson
Robert Morris is 13-10 all-time against Bryant after snapping a six-match losing streak against the Bulldogs on their home court earlier this season. Both matches last season went to five sets, but the Colonials were on the losing end of both.
Four weeks ago in Smithfield, RMU swept Bryant in three sets (25-16, 25-17, 25-22). It was the Colonials' first road victory in the series since 2014, and it happens thanks in part to advantages of 9-3 in service aces and 9.0-2.0 in total team blocks. Emma Granger tallied seven kills, seven block assists, and a pair of service aces, while Lauren Kolenik netted a team-best eight kills to go along with five digs and three blocks (one solo).
RMU is now 24-11 against Sacred Heart in its history after winning in Fairfield at the start of October. The Colonials had previously dropped four straight against the Pioneers, including a pair of four-set defeats last season.
SHU was the first team to take a set from RMU in NEC play this season, but the Colonials prevailed in four (25-18, 25-22, 26-28, 25-23) on Oct. 5. Whitney Brown (44a, 13d) and Lauren Kolenik (15k, 16d) both posted double-doubles, while Maria Alfano (14) and Emma Granger (12) netted double-digit kills. Alfano also tallied a team-high six blocks (one solo) as RMU held the Pioneers to a .199 hitting percentage.
Know Your Opponents
Bryant sits one-and-a-half games behind Robert Morris in the NEC standings, owning a 9-2 conference record and 14-13 overall mark. The Bulldogs' only other league blemish came on Oct. 12 when they fell at home to Sacred Heart in three sets.
Freshman outside hitter Riley James is one of two Bryant players to rank in the top 10 of the NEC in service aces, coming in at second (0.41). Sophomore middle blocker Haley O'Brien slots fourth in blocks (0.85), and junior libero Erika Ward is sixth in digs (3.59). Another second-year, Caroline Kennedy, has the ninth best hitting percentage (.272) on the circuit, while junior setter Alisi Mout'apuaka ranks 10th in assists (5.38).
The Bulldogs are second in the NEC in service aces (1.62), third in kills (12.53), and fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.196) and assists (11.39). Bryant also ranks fifth in hitting percentage (.177), sixth in blocks (1.66), and seventh in digs (13.73).
Sacred Heart is two games back of the Colonials in the NEC table, coming in at third with an 8-2 league mark and 13-10 overall record. The Pioneers' other conference loss came on Sept. 28 at Long Island in five sets.
Sophomore setter Sarah Ciszek is one of the best all-around players on the circuit, coming in at second in assists (9.58), fifth in hitting percentage (.342), and seventh in service aces (0.33). Fellow second-year Emma Smallcomb ranks fourth in digs (3.74) while the duo of Gianna Scioletti (0.83) and Reghan Palanchi (0.80) slot seventh and ninth in blocks, respectively. Palanchi also ranks eighth in hitting percentage (.307), and redshirt senior Liisel Nelis averages the fifth most kills (3.09).
Coming Up
Robert Morris concludes its four-match home stand next weekend when it welcomes Central Connecticut and St. Francis Brooklyn to the UPMC Events Center. The Colonials host the Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8, then face the Terriers at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9.
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