Moon Township, Pa. – Although the UPMC Events Center is still in its infant stages, Robert Morris thought it needed a good sweeping.
It was a dream debut weekend for the Robert Morris University volleyball team at its new home, as the Colonials completed an unbeaten home tournament with a four-set victory (25-23, 20-25, 25-19, 25-16) over McNeese this evening in the RMU Sheraton Invitational.
Robert Morris' win marks the first time since 2008 that it has opened a campaign at 3-0. That team would begin 4-0 with a sweep of the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational, ultimately finishing 19-10 overall with a perfect 8-0 mark in Northeast Conference (NEC) play to claim the league's regular-season crown.
RMU was once again stout defensively at the net, collecting 15.0 total team blocks against McNeese (2-1) after tallying 24.5 against Manhattan and Elon. Maria Alfano led the block party, surpassing her previous career high that lasted less than 24 hours. The junior middle blocker was in on 11 rejections this evening, which is tied for the fourth most in single-game program history, and one shy of matching its four-set standard.
The Colonials started slow and trailed 16-12 in the opening set, but rebounded with a six-point rally to take the lead. Emily Devlin followed a Cowgirls attack error with a kill, then Erika Wilt found the floor after a pair of big saves by Allena Carmody. Carmody sandwiched another McNeese error with a pair of aces, forcing a timeout from the visitors with the scoreboard reading 18-16.
McNeese rallied to force a 23-23 tie, but then Mirna Sarjanovic found a vacant spot in the back left corner and Emma Granger fired an ace to give RMU a 1-0 lead in the match.
Momentum swung the Cowgirls' way after they hit .379 to take the second set and opened a 5-0 advantage in the third, but the Colonials responded with a 6-1 run to draw even. The deadlock continued at 10-10, then the hosts took control with a 10-2 run with a pair of blocks and three Alfano kills. McNeese would tally seven more points, but Granger connected on a swing to give RMU a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Colonials finished off their weekend sweep in style, hitting .393 in the fourth set with just a single error. Everything went RMU's way in the frame, highlighted by a moment where Sarjanovic kept a rally alive with a foot save before finishing it with a kill up the middle. The finishing touches were again provided by Granger, as her team-high 12th kill clinched the team's third win in two days.
Granger was joined in double figures for kills with Sarjanovic (11) and Alfano (10). Whitney Brown posted a 28-assist, 10-dig double-double, and matched her career best in blocks with six, all assisted.
Alfano, Brown, and Granger all represented the Colonials on the All-Tournament Team, with Brown earning Tournament MVP honors. Keegan Nelms and Kendall Glueck of McNeese, Leah Daniel of Elon, and Nashally Eleutiza of Manhattan joined the junior trio on the team.
This is the fifth time in school history RMU has started a season at 3-0, joining the 1987, 2001, 2003, and aforementioned 2008 sides. The 2001 and 2003 teams would both win NEC regular-season and tournament crowns, and the 1987 team went a program-best 5-0 to begin the year.
Robert Morris returns to the court next weekend for the Golden Flashes Classic. The Colonials face Idaho State on Friday, Sept. 6 at 5:00 p.m., then play a pair on Saturday, Sept. 7 against Valparaiso and tournament host Kent State.
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