Moon Township, Pa. – The incredible tale of the 2019 Robert Morris University volleyball team added another chapter to its pages this evening, as the Colonials withstood a furious Central Connecticut comeback to win their first Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season championship in 11 seasons, doing so with a five-set victory (25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 21-25, 15-8) tonight from the UPMC Events Center.
Robert Morris' (23-3, 13-0 NEC) NEC regular-season title clincher was its most eventful of the campaign, as it featured a milestone victory and a pair of single-match records either broken or tied. With the seventh regular-season crown in school history, the Colonials will host the NEC Tournament in two weeks, hoping to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.
"I imagined us having a good season, but nothing like this," said head coach Dale Starr. "Given last year's results and not having a senior on the roster, I got (the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll projected finish of fifth), but we used that as a rallying cry and chip on our shoulder. To be 23-3, I never imagined that. The 10-match winning streak and (current) 13-match winning streak – these are seasons that we just sit back and enjoy, because they don't come along very often."
For Starr, who is the winningest head coach in program history, the victory was the 300th in his career. The 10th-year general has won 154 of those with RMU, 96 at McNeese, and 50 at Mississippi University for Women.
"(300 career wins) just means I've been around a long time," added Starr. "I've been fortunate enough to have a lot of great student-athletes and great staffs. (Assistant coach Danny Doherty) has been a part of almost 100 of these here at Robert Morris, so I've been blessed with a great staff and blessed to be able to be in this business for this long."
And like a lot of those recent triumphs, Starr's star middle blocker shined the brightest.
After achieving career single-match highs in kills in consecutive outings last week, Emma Granger did one better against Central Connecticut (12-13, 8-5 NEC), matching the program standard with 26. The junior added eight block assists and three service aces for a total of 33.0 points, shattering the previous record of 29.0.
Also in double figures for kills were Alyssa Hudak (13) and Maria Alfano (12). Hudak netted three of hers in the final frame, while Alfano hit at a .478 clip and posted six blocks (one solo). Megan Cannon provided 43 assists and nine digs from the setter spot, and Nikolette Zanolli finished with a team-high 20 digs.
RMU and CCSU traded the lead multiple times in the opening stanza, before the hosts turned a 15-13 deficit into a 23-16 lead within an instant. Granger tallied four kills and Whitney Brown added two over the 10-1 surge, which set the table for Alfano's set winner at 25-18.
Again the Colonials' resolve showed in the second set, as they withstood a 7-1 Blue Devils run to come back and win. RMU called timeout after the final touches of that stretch, which made it 23-21 in favor of the visitors. After the break, Granger rattled off three straight kills before a Samantha McCreath error gave the hosts a 2-0 lead for the match.
The Colonials could never really get going in the middle frame, as CCSU by nine at one point before settling into a 25-17 decision. The Blue Devils then jabbed back after a 6-0 RMU surge in the fourth stanza, netting eight of the last 10 points to force a deciding fifth set for just the second time at the UPMC Events Center.
Granger contributed on both ends to begin the final frame, opening with a kill before teaming up with Cannon and Lauren Kolenik on back-to-back blocks. CCSU responded right back with an Isabelle Roufs kill and Madelyn Kaprelyan service ace to pull within one.
Another Granger kill and Blue Devil attack error forced a timeout from the visitors, but that didn't slow the Colonials down. Hudak found the floor out of the break, followed by Granger again to make it 7-2.
RMU kept CCSU within arm's length away over the next 11 points, as the teams traded them to push the score to 12-8. Granger and Cannon combined to reject the next Blue Devil attack to make it a five-point game, then Hudak connected on a swing to force match point. With Starr raising his arms to fire up the home crowd, an errant dig and subsequent set by the visitors set the Colonials into a frenzy.
Granger's 33.0 points were 4.0 more than the previous record, originally established by Rachel Leitch on Nov. 9, 2003 against Duquesne. The junior middle blocker's 26 kills tied the standard set by Megan Bell, who found the floor 26 times on Oct. 23, 2004 against Long Island.
"It's been honestly surprising," said Granger of her recent performances. "I just know anything I'm doing right now I can't do without my team. They've all stepped up so much, and without them I couldn't do anything. I'm so thankful to have a team like this and supports me, and I can support them as well. It's a good family dynamic and it feels good to be a part of a team like this."
Now with the NEC regular-season championship in hand, Robert Morris will look to close out strong with three matches remaining before the conference tournament. The Colonials host St. Francis Brooklyn tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. in their home regular-season finale, then go on the road for a pair of contests next weekend at Fairleigh Dickinson and Long Island.
"We're going to continue to play our game and improve on it," added Granger. "There's a lot we can improve upon, and if we continue to improve then we have a good opportunity to accomplish some really great things. Dale (Starr) keeps stressing 'stay hungry, stay hungry' because we have a target on our back. If we continue to work and know that nothing's done yet, then we'll be able to accomplish some really great things."
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