Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team opened its Horizon League era with a five-set defeat (28-26, 12-25, 22-25, 25-22, 11-15) to Oakland University this evening from the UPMC Events Center. RMU falls to 0-1 with the defeat, while Oakland moves to 1-0.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Trailing 10-6 in the deciding set, RMU – who had come from 2-1 down in the match – rattled off three consecutive points on a Skylar Clements block, Abby Ryan kill, and attack error by Oakland's Jamie Walling. The Golden Grizzlies went to Brittany Welch for a pair of points to make it a three-point difference, but after a Colonials timeout, a long serve and Ryan spike pulled the hosts within one once again. That would be as close as it got however, as Oakland finished with two kills and an ace to come away with the victory.
QUOTABLE
"I was really proud of the effort tonight," said RMU head coach Dale Starr. "We were kind of limited in what we could do with two injuries going on with our starting middle (blockers). We had some mental lapses, but I would expect that after being off for 431 days. Some of that is our youth, some of that is because our All-American middle blocker (Emma Granger) goes down in warm-ups and we had to scramble. Going five sets tonight was a great effort. Not having (Granger and Maria Alfano) on the floor hurt, but I was really proud of the kids stepping up and doing some things we haven't asked them to do. It bodes well for the future."
IT'S A GAME OF RUNS
Despite being short-handed, the Colonials came out firing with an early 6-2 lead in the opening set. Alyssa Hudak fired two of her three aces during the stretch, and RMU ultimately pushed the gap to 10-5 after a pair of Oakland attack errors. The Golden Grizzlies then ripped off six straight points to take an 11-10 advantage, but the hosts responded with five straight thanks to a pair of tandem blocks by Clements. Oakland went on another 5-0 run to pull even and the frame settled into a tug-of-war before Kennedy Dolmage forced set point with a kill to make it 26-25. Undeterred, the Colonials scored the final three to take the set, thanks to kills from freshmen Emma Brown and Annie Monaco, as well as one from senior Alyson Londot, who had previously been off the floor for 515 days after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the 2019 opener.
BATTLE BACK
The fourth set featured more of the same back-and-forth action from the opener, as neither team could gain much of an advantage throughout. A pair of mishits allowed RMU to go ahead 21-20, only for the hosts to commit one of their own to bring the teams even. Clements and Whitney Brown teamed up to stuff a Dolmage swing, putting the Colonials in front briefly at 22-21, but Jessica Riedl responded with a kill to force another tie. However, Clements found the floor off a Brown feed to make it 23-22, then a ball-handling error and Hudak ace gave RMU the fourth set, 25-22, and set the stage for the deciding fifth.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Senior setter Whitney Brown opened the campaign with a double-double, tallying 42 assists and 19 digs to go along with a pair of kills, one ace, and a block assist. Brown, an All-Northeast Conference (NEC) Second Team selection in 2019, now has 21 career-doubles after posting 11 as a junior, five as a sophomore, and four as a freshman.
NEW TO RMU
Freshman outside hitter Abby Ryan led the offensive attack with 12 kills, while middle blocker Emma Brown provided six kills and a pair of block assists. Annie Monaco, another outside hitter, was one of five players with double-digit digs (11) and contributed two aces, a block assist, and a kill in her first collegiate game.
WELCOME BACK
Fourth-year outside hitters Alyson Londot and Mirna Sarjanovic returned to the floor competitively for the first time tonight after they both suffered season-ending knee injuries in 2019. Londot hit at .219 clip with 11 kills, adding a pair of block assists and three digs in her first match since Aug. 30, 2019, while Sarjanovic provided six digs from the back row after not playing since Sept. 7, 2019.
HIGH HONORS
Hudak's three aces led the Colonials, while sophomore libero Allena Carmody paced her teammates with 21 digs. Clements finished with a team-high five blocks (one solo) from the middle blocker position. Oakland had both Kennedy Dolmage and Brittany Welch at a match-best 16 kills, and Lindsay Wightman collected 32 digs to top all players.
NEXT UP
RMU and Oakland clash again tomorrow from the UPMC Events Center, with Tuesday's contest featuring a 5:00 p.m. opening serve. The match can be seen live on ESPN+.
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