Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team begins another four-match road swing on March 1-2 when it travels to Cleveland State. The Colonials are searching for their first win at 0-8, while the Vikings are currently 5-5.
MATCH #9 & 10
Robert Morris Colonials (0-8, 0-8 HL) @ Cleveland State Vikings (5-5, 5-5 HL)
March 1-2, 2021 // 6:00 p.m. / 5:00 p.m. // Cleveland, Ohio – Woodling Gymnasium (3,000)
Live Video: ESPN+ (Mon.) // Live Stats: CSUVikings.com (Mon. / Tues.)
History w/ Cleveland State
Overall: 1-22 | Home: 1-7 | Away: 0-11 | Neutral: 0-2 | Streak: L4
Last Game: Sept. 18, 2015 – Toledo, Ohio – Cleveland State 3, Robert Morris 0
RMU is 1-22 all-time against Cleveland State, but the teams have only played twice since 2010. The last meeting came in 2015 at Toledo's Blue/Gold Invitational, which went to the Vikings in straight sets (19-25, 20-25, 16-25). Kristin Thompson and Taylor Lord both collected nine kills and hit over .350 for the Colonials, while Liz Campbell recorded 26 assists and seven digs. Arden Fisher and Allie Yurkovich both tallied double-digit digs, netting 13 and 10, respectively.
Scouting the Vikings
Led by 21st-year head coach Chuck Voss, Cleveland State enters this two-game set at 5-5 with a sweep at Green Bay, and splits with Milwaukee, Oakland, and Purdue Fort Wayne. The Vikings went 8-19 (4-12 HL) in 2019 and were picked to finish eighth in the Horizon League Preseason' Coaches Poll, receiving 52 points in the 11-team field.
Senior middle hitter Hannah Greene leads CSU in kills (3.14 per set), blocks (1.06 per set), and points (3.90 per set). She is one of three Vikings averaging more than two kills per frame, joining junior London Portis (2.61) and senior Emily DeGeorge (2.17). DeGeorge also paces the team in service aces (0.36 per set) and digs (3.03 per set), and freshman setter Abby Miller quarterbacks the offense at 9.47 assists per frame.
My Maria
Senior middle blocker Maria Alfano has seen her name pop up throughout the RMU career record books this season, and now sits sixth all-time in hitting percentage (.306) after surpassing the qualifying standard of 1,700 career attempts against Wright State last Tuesday. Alfano also slots eighth in block assists (245) and is one shy of tying Leah Dunivan (246; 2013-16) for seventh, and sits five total blocks shy of matching Kristin Thompson (283; 2012-15) for ninth in that category.
Moving On Up
Senior setter Whitney Brown has climbed up the RMU career assist leaderboard, now sitting seventh with a total of 2,122 to her name. She surpassed Alyssa Bennett (2008-09) for eighth, and now is 53 shy of pulling even with Michelle Bartlett (2,175; 1999-01) for sixth place. The Pittsburgh product became the eighth player in program history to record 2,000 career assists on Feb. 2 at UIC, and is averaging 9.00 helpers per set this season.
Hey Rookie
Freshman outside hitter Abby Ryan has been a key to RMU's offensive attack this season, as she leads the team in kills per set (2.64) and ranks third in points per set (2.72). Ryan has paced the team in kills in four of eight matches and reached double figures in five contests – highlighted by a season-high 12 coming in her collegiate debut on Jan. 25 against Oakland.
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.
Next Up
RMU finishes up its road slate on March 8-9 when it travels to Youngstown State. The Colonials and Penguins play at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, and at 5:00 p.m. the following day.
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