Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team begins a 16-match spring slate on Monday and Tuesday when it welcomes Oakland to the UPMC Events Center. This will be RMU's first competitive match in 431 days after last played on Nov. 22, 2019 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament semifinals against Central Connecticut. The Colonials return all but one student-athlete from that 2019 campaign, where they went 25-5 and won the program's first NEC regular-season crown in 11 years. RMU was picked to finish ninth in the spring season, receiving a total of 43 points in last week's preseason coaches poll.
MATCHES #1 & #2
Oakland Golden Grizzlies (0-0, 0-0 HL) @ Robert Morris Colonials (0-0, 0-0 HL)
January 25-26, 2021 // 6:00 p.m. / 5:00 p.m. // Moon Township, Pa. – UPMC Events Center (4,000)
Live Video: ESPN+ (Mon. / Tues.) // Live Stats: RMUColonials.com
On-Air Talent: Spencer Witt (play-by-play)
History w/ Oakland
Overall: 2-4 | Home: 1-0 | Away: 0-2 | Neutral: 1-2 | Streak: L3
Last Game: Aug. 26, 2017 – Indianapolis, Ind. – Oakland 3, Robert Morris 1 (25-15, 20-25, 22-25, 15-25)
Robert Morris trails in the all-time series versus Oakland, 4-2, dropping the previous three meetings in 2010, 2014, and 2017. Three of the last four meetings have come on a neutral floor in non-conference tournaments, while Monday will mark the first time the Colonials have hosted the Golden Grizzlies since Sept. 1, 2001.
In their last meeting, RMU grabbed a 1-0 lead with a 25-15 triumph in the opening set, but Oakland took the next three to collect a 3-1 win for the match. Alyson Londot (15k, 15d) and Mirna Sarjanovic (12k, 11d) both posted double-doubles for the Colonials, while Emma Granger netted 13 kills at a .346 clip to go with three block assists. Granger was named to the Butler Bulldog Brawl All-Tournament Team following the match.
Scouting the Golden Grizzlies
Led by 14th-year head coach Rob Beam, Oakland is coming off a 15-14 season in 2019 and finished sixth in the Horizon League with an 8-8 mark. The Golden Grizzlies were tabbed to finish fifth in last week's preseason coaches' poll, receiving 66 points in the 11-team ballot.
Oakland brings back three All-Horizon League selections from last season, including Honorable Mention picks Jamie Walling and Lindsay Wightman. Walling, a senior middle hitter, averaged 3.97 points per set and 3.31 kills per set, and hit at a .280 clip in 2019. Walling, a fourth-year libero, finished second in the Horizon League in digs per set with a 5.31 mark. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Brittany Welch made the All-Freshman Team in 2019 after transferring from New Mexico State, as she averaged 2.32 kills and 2.13 digs per frame.
Bobby Mo-Mentum
RMU is entering the Horizon League with one of its most talented teams, as 12 of 13 student-athletes return from last season's 25-win campaign. The Colonials' 25 victories were the third most in program history, and a program-best 15 NEC victories captured the team's first regular-season title in 11 years. RMU brings back three All-NEC selections in seniors Maria Alfano, Whitney Brown, and Emma Granger, with Granger unanimously named NEC Player of the Year and became the first player in program history to earn All-Region and All-America recognition.
The Leader
Robert Morris head coach Dale Starr, the program's all-time leader in coaching wins with 156, enters his 11th season in charge this spring. Starr was named NEC Coach of the Year in 2019, lifting the Colonials from a fifth-place projection to a 15-1 league record and first regular-season title in 11 years. He netted his 300th career win (154 at RMU, 96 at McNeese, 50 at Mississippi University for Women) on Nov. 8, 2019 against Central Connecticut, which was the match that clinched the regular-season championship for RMU. Under Starr's guidance, the Colonials were 103-45 (.696) in the NEC with eight league postseason appearances, including the 2015 NEC Tournament title and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth.
Wonder Woman
Senior middle blocker Emma Granger will go down as one of the best players to ever put on a RMU uniform, and she's back to lead the Colonials into their inaugural Horizon League campaign. Granger's 2019 was special, as she ranked sixth nationally in blocks (1.50), ninth in aces (0.56), 23rd in points (5.03), and 33rd in hitting percentage (.381), and finished the season with a conference-record tying seven NEC Player of the Week designations. She also broke school records in career aces (174), single-season total blocks (160), and single-match kills (26) and points (33.0) as a junior. The Dalton, Ohio product brought home NEC Player of the Year unanimously and became the first player in program history to collect All-Region and All-America accolades.
Smarts and Sets
Fourth-year setter Whitney Brown became the first female junior student-athlete in school history to garner Academic All-America recognition in 2019, as she was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Second Team. Brown, who also was the NEC Fall Scholar-Athlete of the Year and All-NEC Second Team member last season, led the conference in assists (10.06) and recorded 11 double-doubles in her breakout campaign. A biology major with a perfect 4.00 grade point average, the Pittsburgh product is also a two-time Academic All-District II selection, also earning the honor as a sophomore in 2018.
New to RMU
The Colonials welcome a trio of freshmen into the fold this spring in Emma Brown, Annie Monaco, and Abby Ryan. All three student-athletes signed scholarship agreements or National Letters of Intent (NLI) with RMU in November of 2019, and provide a veteran-laden team with the depth it lost due to injuries last season.
Brown, a middle blocker from Westerville, Ohio, helped lead St. Francis DeSales High School to the 2019 Ohio Division I state crown over the nation's No. 1 team in Padua. She was named to three All-CCL teams, earning First Team accolades as a junior and senior, and was recognized as on the All-District First Team and All-Ohio Honorable Mention in 2019. She made the Under Armour Watch List in three consecutive seasons, and hit at a .765 clip with 176 total blocks over her high school career.
Monaco, an outside hitter and setter from Dover, Ohio, captured three League titles, two Sectional crowns, and a pair of District championships with New Philadelphia High School. She was the League Player of the Year as a senior, and earned All-Ohio Honorable Mention accolades in 2018 and 2019. Monaco was also an All-District 5 First Team pick twice.
Ryan, an outside hitter from Orchard Park, N.Y., collected two division titles and a Section 6 crown over her high school career at Orchard Park. She was named to the All-Western NY Team and All-State Large Schools Fourth Team in 2018, and also collected Maroon Key MVP. Ryan posted a school-record 1,400 kills, adding 472 digs, 181 aces, and 101 blocks over her high school career.
Up Next
RMU begins a four-match road swing after this opening series and doesn't return to the UPMC Events Center until Feb. 22-23. The Colonials will head to the Windy City next, taking on the UIC Flames at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on Monday, Feb. 1 and 5:00 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
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