Princess Anne, Md. – It was a tale of three sets for the Robert Morris University volleyball team this afternoon on the opening day of The Henson's Hawk Invitational, and fortunately it was on the right side of all of them, as the Colonials stayed unbeaten with a three-set victory (25-11, 35-33, 25-18) over Hampton.
Despite posting its lowest block total of the early season, Robert Morris (8-0, 0-0 NEC) came away with a straight-set sweep thanks to a .296 hitting percentage. The Colonials stymied the Hampton (2-7, 0-0 Big South) attack, as it hit at a .095 clip, which included a negative-.160 percentage in the opening frame.
RMU's middle blockers Maria Alfano and Emma Granger both hit .500 over the match. Alfano led the team with 11 kills on 22 swings and added four block assists, while Granger tallied nine kills with three rejections (one solo) and two service aces. Alyssa Hudak also recorded nine kills, and Whitney Brown dished out 32 assists without a ball-handling error.
Knotted at 3-3 in the first set, the Colonials scored eight of the next nine points to take control. The Pirates halved the RMU lead at 14-7, but Alfano collected a kill and two blocks, with an attack error by Hampton sandwiched in between, that ultimately halted an attempted rally.
The second frame was a different story, with the Colonials coming back from facing set point at 33-32 to win the next three. Hudak found the floor to keep RMU alive in the stanza, then the Pirates hit an attack error. Brown finished it off with a service ace, giving the Colonials a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Colonials rode that momentum early on in the third set, with three Alfano points and a Lauren Kolenik kill making it 4-0. Emma Granger's service ace extended the gap to 11-5, but Hampton responded with a four-point rally to trim it to two. The difference bounced between four and six points until two more Kolenik swings, an Alfano kill, and an attack error left RMU on the cusp of victory at 23-15. The Pirates would tally three more points, but make a pair of errors to give the Colonials the win.
Nikolette Zanolli and Erika Wilt both reached double figures in digs, collecting 13 and 12, respectively. Allena Carmody registered a pair of service aces.
RMU's current winning streak of eight games is the team's longest since the 2004 season, when it won 13 consecutive games from Oct. 15 to Nov. 20.
Robert Morris completes The Henson's Hawk Invitational tomorrow with a pair of matches, beginning at 1:00 p.m. against Rider. The Colonials will face tournament host Maryland Eastern Shore at 7:00 p.m. in the nightcap.
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