Moon Township, Pa. – It took an hour and 21 minutes for the UPMC Events Center to see its first Colonial victory. It took nearly twice as long to witness its second.
713 days after the Robert Morris University volleyball team closed the Charles L. Sewall Center with a 3-0 sweep of Rutgers, the Colonials christened the new confines with a pair of victories on the opening day of the RMU Sheraton Invitational.
After compiling a 188-120 (.610) record at 'The Chuck' and going 12-8 (.600) during its two-year stay at the North Athletic Complex, RMU owns a perfect 2-0 mark through the first day of the UPMC Events Center era. The Colonials opened the afternoon with a straight-set sweep (25-15, 25-19, 25-17) of Manhattan, then grinded out a gritty five-set victory (25-17, 18-25, 27-25, 24-26, 15-7) in the nightcap against Elon.
Maria Alfano (16) and Alyssa Hudak (15) combined for 31 of RMU's 64 kills in the closer against the Phoenix, but it was the unlikely duo of Megan Cannon and Nikolette Zanolli who would provide two of the Colonials' most important attacks.
GALLERY: Robert Morris 3, Elon 2
Tied 24-24 in the third frame, Cannon swung her arm out in a desperation dive and found an unoccupied spot of the floor for a go-ahead point. After the visitors saved one set point, an Alfano and Emily Devlin block preceded a rare kill by the libero Zanolli, who split the front and back lines with a fadeaway swing. The third stanza was a complete 180 offensively from RMU's opening-set triumph, as it hit .083 in the middle frame compared to a .414 hitting percentage to open the match.
Elon (0-2) finished a tight fourth set with a service ace to force a tiebreaker, but the Colonials rebounded well with seven of the first eight points in the fifth. Hudak tabbed a pair of kills to force a Phoenix timeout, then halted a building rally with back-to-back successful swings.
The Phoenix trimmed the gap to five twice, but kills from Alfano and Devlin, and a Carmody ace provided more than the visitors could bargain for. Devlin provided the finishing touches on the evening, picking up her fifth kill to seal the match.
RMU was balanced offensively and stout defensively against the Jaspers, collecting 40 kills amongst seven players and 12.5 team blocks at the net. Manhattan (0-1) hit at a negative clip for the first set (-.111) and at .000 over the entire match, and failed to record a single service ace.
GALLERY: Robert Morris 3, Manhattan 0
It was a quick adjustment to the Colonials' new home, as they raced out to an 8-2 lead in the first set. Emma Granger recorded the first kill in venue history, but it was Erika Wilt who would do most of the lifting to start, tallying three kills and assisting on a triple block with Devlin and Alfano.
The Jaspers regrouped after a timeout and pulled within four, but a four-point rally headlined by a pair of Granger aces allowed the Colonials to regain control of the frame. RMU finished it off with a kill and block, with a Manhattan serving error providing the winning point.
The hosts made up an early 2-0 deficit in the second set, scoring nine of the next 10 points to force a Jaspers timeout. The visitors stayed within an arm's length for most of the stanza, forcing a Colonials timeout at 20-16. RMU battled back after the break, getting two Granger kills, a successful swing from Mirna Sarjanovic, and two opponent errors to go into the third set with a 2-0 lead.
Alfano was at her best in the third frame, going on a personal 6-0 run to all but seal the result. With the Colonials up 13-8, the junior middle blocker rejected three straight Jasper attacks, then found the floor after a timeout. She added another block and kill to make it 19-8, and provided RMU's next two points after Manhattan went on a 4-1 run. Attack errors made up three of the last four Colonial points, giving the hosts their first triumph at the new confines.
Against the Jaspers, Alfano, Granger, and Wilt each tallied a team-high eight kills. Alfano added a career-high eight blocks (two solo), while Zanolli collected 14 digs. Whitney Brown dished out 19 assists in the season-opening win.
Alfano and Granger both denied six Elon attacks in the nightcap. Zanolli matched her collegiate best with 30 digs, while Brown (31 assists, 12 digs) posted RMU's first double-double of the season.
Robert Morris concludes the RMU Sheraton Invitational tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. against McNeese. The Cowgirls were victors in their lone match of the day, a five-set win over Elon. McNeese and Manhattan will play at 11:00 a.m. to begin tomorrow's festivities, followed a 3:00 p.m. match between the Jaspers and Phoenix.
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