Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team bounced back from suffering its first three defeats of the season by sweeping Northeast Conference (NEC) newcomer Merrimack in three sets (25-17, 25-6, 25-9) to kick off league play this evening at the UPMC Events Center.
Robert Morris (11-3, 1-0 NEC) held Merrimack (1-7, 0-1 NEC) to single digits in the second and third frames, accomplishing that feat for the first time since Nov. 12, 2011 against Quinnipiac (25-9, 25-20, 25-7). Additionally, it also marked the first time since then – and the 10th time since 2004 – that the Colonials hit over .400 in a match, as they converted at a .405 clip on 79 swings.
RMU's outside hitters did most of the heavy lifting, with Lauren Kolenik (14) and Alyssa Hudak (11) both in double figures for kills. Hudak hit at an eye-popping .786 mark, while Kolenik connected at a .393 rate with five digs, two service aces, and two blocks to fill the stat sheet.
Defensively, the Colonials held the Warriors at a negative hitting percentage (-.011), which marked the first time that has happened since Sept. 2, 2017 when Coppin State hit -.009 against RMU.
The Warriors kept pace with the Colonials in the early stages of the opening set, with it at a 13-13 deadlock following a Catherine Flaherty kill. Whitney Brown responded by finding floor on a setter dump, then Emma Granger served back-to-back ace to force a timeout from the visitors. Merrimack burned its second timeout when the gap reached five at 22-17, but it was no use as RMU finished the frame with a Nikolette Zanolli ace and kills from Kolenik and Granger.
After that brief scare in the opening stanza, the Colonials kicked it into another gear for the second and third sets. RMU opened the middle frame on a 13-1 rally, and tallied 10 of the first 12 points in the third set. The hosts actually converted at a less successful rate in the final two games (.379, .320) compared to the first one (.520), but forced the Warriors to commit double and quadruple the attack errors (6, 12) in relation to their kill totals (3, 3).
Brown finished just shy of her sixth double-double, recording 32 assists and nine digs on the evening.
Granger led the Colonials with six block assists, climbing the career leaderboards in the process. The junior is now sixth in career block assists with 248, passing Leah Dunivan (2013-16) and Kristin Thompson (2012-15). She also moved by Thompson in total blocks, now ranking eighth with 288 to her name.
Under head coach Dale Starr, RMU is now 8-2 in NEC opening matches.
Robert Morris returns to the court on Friday, Oct. 4 when it travels to Bryant for a 6:00 p.m. opening serve.
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