Volleyball | 1/26/2021 8:55:00 PM
Box Score Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team closed its opening Horizon League series with a three-set defeat to Oakland this evening from the UPMC Events Center. RMU falls to 0-2 on the season, while the Golden Grizzlies improve to 2-0.
Final Stats
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Down 2-0 for the match, RMU opened the third set with a 9-7 lead, bookended by a pair of Whitney Brown service aces. The Colonials remained tied or ahead until a block from Jessica Riedl put Oakland in front, 12-11. The visitors added to their lead, pushing it to 22-17 before a RMU timeout. Out of the break, Alyson Londot buried back-to-back kills to trim the deficit to three, then an attack error brought the Colonials within two. The hosts got it to a one-point gap twice on a Londot ace and Skylar Clements kill, but Patti Cesarini finished the match off with a kill at 25-23.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU
Senior setter Whitney Brown posted her second double-double in a row and her third in as many matches, leading RMU with 32 assists and 14 digs. Brown also fired a match-high three aces, and now has 22 career double-doubles after posting 11 as a junior, five as a sophomore, and four as a freshman. The Pittsburgh product is 47 assists shy of reaching 2,000 for her career, which would make her the eighth player in program history to reach that mark.
LEADING THE CHARGE
For the second straight night, freshman outside hitter Abby Ryan paced the Colonials in kills as she netted 11. She was the only RMU player to reach double-digits in that category, as Alyson Londot fell one shy of joining her. Ryan, a rookie from Orchard Park, N.Y., also collected three digs and an assist a day after opening her collegiate career with 12 kills.
CAN YOU DIG IT?
The Colonials outpaced the Golden Grizzlies in digs, 60-55, and had three different players record double figures. Brown's 14 led the team, while junior libero Nikolette Zanolli and third-year outside hitter Alyssa Hudak added 11 and 10, respectively. All but two of the 13 RMU players that played this evening recorded at least one dig.
HIGH HONORS
Hudak and freshman middle blocker Emma Brown shared the Colonial lead with three block assists apiece. For Oakland, Patti Cesarini recorded a match-best 16 kills, and Madison Ross dished out 22 of the team's 40 helpers. Haley Brown led the Golden Grizzlies in digs (11) and was one of three to record a service ace for the visitors.
NEXT UP
RMU begins a four-match road swing on Monday, Feb. 1 when it travels to UIC for a 7:00 p.m. (ET), 6:00 p.m. (CT) opening serve. The Colonials and Flames then cap the series at 6:00 p.m. (ET), 5:00 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
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