Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU volleyball team concluded its 2021 season Sunday, dropping a 3-2 decision to Green Bay at the UPMC Events Center on Senior Day. The Colonials finish the 2021 campaign with an overall record of 9-21 (.300).
GOOD START
For the second consecutive home match, the Colonials opened strong, grabbing the first two sets. RMU earned a 26-24 win in an opening set that featured 10 ties and four lead changes. RMU owned a 21-15 cushion, but the Phoenix used an 8-2 run to tie it, 23-23. The Colonials steadied and sealed the victory with consecutive kills from outside hitter
Alyssa Hudak and middle blocker
Emma Brown. In the first set RMU got a boost from one of the five seniors playing their final collegiate match, as right side
Emily Devlin contributed three kills and a pair of block assists. In the second set the Colonials never trailed, grabbing an early 3-0 lead and eventually stretching their advantage to 17-10 thanks to their own 8-2 surge. During the run outside hitter
Alyson Londot notched three kills and a service ace as RMU posted a 25-17 victory.
THE THIRD SET
Green Bay began its comeback in the third, earning a 25-21 victory by closing on a 6-3 spurt. The set featured 14 ties and five lead changes, with Alexandra Zakutney sealing the win for the Phoenix (15-15 / 10-8 #HLVB) with one of her match-high 22 kills. Green Bay combined for an attack percentage of .087 in the first two sets but dug out the victory by combining in the final three sets to hit .405. Zakutney was one of four Phoenix to record a double-digit effort in kills, as Shannon Coughlin added 15.
QUOTABLE
"I actually think our best set was the third set," interim head coach
Danny Doherty said. "It was our most efficient. We wanted three things out of the weekend, which was to put a lot of pressure on them, have fun and finish. We did that in the first couple sets. We tried as hard as we could put to find that pressure again. We played on our heels and didn't put ourselves in the driver's seat after the first two sets."
FOURTH, FIFTH
A nip-and-tuck affair again in the fourth set, middle blocker
Emma Granger turned a 14-13 deficit into a 15-14 lead with consecutive kills. Granger then followed by teaming with Devlin to block Cora Behnke to give the Colonials a 16-14 edge, but Green Bay scored the next six points grab a 20-16 lead. The Colonials closed to within 21-19 after a kill from outside hitter
Annie Monaco, but the Phoenix earned a 25-19 win to tie the match at two sets each. Green Bay carried that momentum into the fifth set, jumping out to a 6-1 advantage en route to a 15-6 triumph.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
The seniors led the way Sunday for the Colonials, with Londot securing a team-high 14 kills to go along with three digs, a service ace and two blocks assists. Granger added 11 kills, nine total blocks and four more service aces as her and Londot, the two super seniors, concluded their respective careers at RMU. Granger's nine blocks against the Phoenix Sunday settled her career tally in total blocks at 505, helping her become the first student-athlete in program history to eclipse 1,000 kills and 500 blocks. She finishes her career with 1,262 kills, which ranks fourth in program history, and a .318 hitting percentage, which sits fifth. Granger's career school mark for service aces stands at 242. Londot, meanwhile, concluded her career Sunday with career totals of 788 kills and 491 digs.
SENIOR SALUTE
Devlin contributed eight kills, three digs and six block assists for the Colonials in her final match Sunday, while setter
Megan Cannon dished out a season-high 32 assists while also registering six digs. Libero
Nikolette Zanolli, the 13th student-athlete in program history to reach the 1,000-dig plateau, finished with 12 in her final game in an RMU uniform. She concludes her career with 1,059 digs to her credit.
QUOTABLE
"There are five kids that aren't going to grace this court as athletes anymore," Doherty said. "It's tough, especially since they've done so much for the program. These kids have a bright future in whatever endeavors they choose to accomplish. I'm proud of each of them for their effort today and their entire career at Robert Morris."
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