Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team continued its dominance at the UPMC Events Center with a straight-set victory over Saint Francis U (25-20, 25-12, 25-12) this evening in Northeast Conference (NEC) action.
Robert Morris (14-3, 4-0 NEC) moved to 62-10 all-time against in-state rival Saint Francis U (1-15, 1-3 NEC) with its 11th consecutive home win in the series. The Colonials hit .281 as a team and held the Red Flash to a .158 mark, the 13th opponent this season and fifth straight to be held below a .200 hitting percentage. RMU also rejected eight SFU attacks on the defensive end, and picked up eight more points off service aces.
Emma Granger led the Colonials with 18.0 points, tallying 10 kills on a .533 hitting percentage, seven blocks (one solo), and four service aces. Granger now has 150 aces in her career, making her the fourth player in program history to reach that mark. The junior sits in a tie for third all-time in that category, 12 off breaking Kristie Tuxford's (1992-95) record of 161.
Lauren Kolenik hit .407 with a team-high 13 kills, seven of which came in the opening frame. Whitney Brown dished out 27 assists to go along with four kills and four block assists, and Allena Carmody served up three aces.
The Colonials returned home and picked up where they left off over the weekend, racing out to a 10-2 advantage buoyed by two Kolenik kills. A comfortable first-set victory looked to be in the cards, but the Red Flash stormed back with 14 of the next 21 points to force a RMU timeout at 17-16. The hosts regrouped after the break, holding SFU within arm's length with a Kolenik point finishing off a 25-20 win.
The Red Flash went ahead 3-2 early in the middle frame, but the Colonials tallied six of the next seven points to regain and double their lead. That gap reached five at 13-8 with a block from Granger and Kolenik, and built to 19-9 with three more rejections, all consecutively. RMU finished the stanza with six of the final nine points, with Granger contributing a kill, block, and ace during the run.
Emily Devlin kept the Colonial momentum going to start the third set with her only two kills of the night coming back-to-back. The lead grew to 11-4 with a Skylar Clements point that forced a SFU timeout, and made it to 19-10 with a pair of bad sets by the visitors. The Red Flash collected two of the next three points to make it 20-12, then RMU finished off the match with a five-point rally boosted by Kolenik and Clements.
This is the 13th time the Colonials have started NEC play at 4-0, and the first time meeting that mark since the 2014 season.
Robert Morris continues a three-match home stand on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7:00 p.m. against Fairleigh Dickinson. The Colonials are hosting Dating & Domestic Violence Awareness Night against the Knights, with donations going to the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh.
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