Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU volleyball team wrapped up a five-match road trip Friday, falling to Youngstown State, 3-1, at the Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio. The Colonials fell to 9-18 (.333) overall on the 2021 season, including 2-13 (.133) in the Horizon League.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
RMU opened the match with a victory in the opening set, 25-20, as setter
Ashleigh Wallin opened the scoring with a service ace, one of nine on the match for the Colonials. Entering this week's action, RMU led NCAA Division I in team service aces with 192 while ranking 10th in aces per set (1.98). The Colonials recorded three in the first set and got four kills from outside hitter
Annie Monaco to grab a 1-0 lead. Tied, 4-4, RMU used an 11-5 run to open up a 15-9 advantage. Monaco started the surge with a kill and notched three during the salvo, while middle blockers
Emma Brown and
Emma Granger and outside hitter
Alyson Londot each added one. The lead swelled to 20-12 after a service ace from Monaco, and libero
Allena Carmody sealed the win with an ace of her own.
TWO, THREE
Youngstown State (6-20 / 3-12 #HLVB) jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the second set en route to a 25-12 triumph behind the exploits of Paula Gursching, who finished with 10 kills and a .533 attack percentage in the set. Gursching was the main offensive force of the match for the Penguins, as she accounted for 29.5 points and registered a double-double with 27 kills and 14 digs. She also added a service ace and three blocks. YSU grabbed a 2-1 lead in the match during the third set with a 25-20 win, using a 10-5 run to turn a 4-4 tie into a 14-9 lead.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
In the fourth set, Youngstown State trailed, 8-5, after a kill from outside hitter
Abby Ryan, but an 8-0 spurt helped the Penguins grab a 13-8 advantage. The Colonials chipped away, closing to within 23-21, but kills from Nadia Pace and Gursching clinched the four-set win for YSU. Granger paced the Colonials with 11 kills and added two service aces and three blocks, while Ryan and Londot each finished with six kills. RMU also got a spark from senior
Emily Devlin, who returned to action and finished with five kills in nine attempts without an attack error, producing a .556 hitting percentage.
UP NEXT
The Colonials conclude their 2021 fall season with three consecutive matches at the UPMC Events Center. RMU opens the homestand Thursday, Nov. 11, with a 6:00 p.m. first serve against Milwaukee.
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