Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team returns to the UPMC Events Center to begin a four-match home stand on March 15-16 when it hosts IUPUI. The Colonials are coming off their first win of the season, a 3-0 sweep of Youngstown State last Tuesday, while the Jaguars enter this series at 0-8 (0-8 HL).
MATCH #13/14
IUPUI Jaguars (0-8, 0-8 HL) @ Robert Morris Colonials (1-11, 1-11 HL)
March 15-16, 2021 // 6:00 p.m. / 5:00 p.m. // Moon Township, Pa. – UPMC Events Center (4,000)
Live Video: ESPN+ (Mon. / Tues.) // Live Stats: RMUColonials.com
History w/ IUPUI
Overall: 1-2 | Home: 0-0 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 1-2 | Streak: L1
Last Game: Sept. 10, 2011 – Kent, Ohio – IUPUI 3, Robert Morris 0
RMU is 1-2 all-time against IUPUI, with all three matches coming at Buckeye State non-conference tournaments. The Colonials most recently faced the Jaguars at the 2011 Kent State Open, and also clashed with them at the 1998 Nike/Howard Johnson Classic at Wright State, and 2004 Cleveland State Medical Mutual Invitational.
In Cleveland, RMU captured a four-set win (30-26, 30-24, 18-30, 30-18) against IUPUI. Darcey Miller dished out 51 assists and four service aces, adding eight digs and a solo block defensively. Megan Bell (16), Janette Schneider (13), and Rachel Leitch (12) all recorded double-digit kills, with Bell adding 17 digs to complete a double-double. Darcy Thompson recorded a team-high 32 digs, and Schneider provided eight rejections (three solo) to lead the Colonials to victory.
Scouting the Jaguars
Led by second-year head coach Lindsey Froehlich, IUPUI sits at 0-8 entering this two-match season with its last six defeats coming in three sets each. The Jaguars went 7-22 (3-13 HL) in 2019 and were picked to finished 10th in the Horizon League Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 22 points.
Sophomore outside hitter Allie Pogue and freshman Maddie Haines both average over 2.00 kills per set, coming in at 2.67 and 2.33, respectively. Haines also leads the team in service aces per set (0.26), while Pogue's 2.91 points per frame are a team high. Second-year setter Darragh Dixon runs the offense with 8.41 assists per set, while senior libero Rhiannon Schuenemann handles the back row with 3.67 digs per frame.
Senior Sendoff
Following Tuesday's match, RMU will recognize the careers of seniors Maria Alfano (Cranberry Township, Pa.), Whitney Brown (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Skylar Clements (Littleton, Colo.), Mirna Sarjanovic (Zagreb, Croatia), and Erika Wilt (Temperance, Mich.). Two other seniors, Emma Granger (Dalton, Ohio) and Alyson Londot (Utica, Ohio), currently plan to return in the fall for a fifth season of competition.
This senior class has been instrumental in helping lift the Colonials to 65 victories over their careers, as well as a pair of Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament appearances and the 2019 NEC regular-season title. The 2019 championship was RMU's first in 11 seasons, as that team finished 25-5 (.833) overall and collected a program-record 15 conference wins.
Stay Classy
Fourth-year teammates Whitney Brown and Emma Granger were selected as two of 30 nominees for this year's Senior CLASS Award, which goes to the top NCAA Division I senior student-athlete in each sport that best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character, and competition. The duo are the only two Horizon League student-athletes among the candidate list, and RMU is one of four schools to produce multiple nominees alongside Kentucky (3), Minnesota (2), and Utah (2). Brown and Granger are the third and fourth Colonials to be nominated, joining Amanda Graham (2010) and Hannah Veith (2011).
Welcome Back Wonder Woman
Senior middle blocker Emma Granger made her season debut on March 2 after missing RMU's first nine games due to injury, and provided four kills, a service ace, and a block assist. Granger, who was named NEC Player of the Year unanimously and became the first player in program history to collect All-Region and All-America accolades in 2019, owns the RMU career record in service aces (180), and ranks third in hitting percentage (.335), fourth in block assists (330), and seventh in total blocks (379).
What Can Brown Do For You
Senior setter Whitney Brown continues to climb up the RMU career assist leaderboard, sitting sixth with a total of 2,237 to her name. She surpassed Michelle Bartlett (2,175; 1999-01) for sixth and needs 148 more to break into the top five and match Kelly Wayne (2,385; 1995-98), which comes out to a per-match average of 37 helpers over the Colonials remaining four regular-season contests. She is averaging 9.37 assists per set in 2021, which ranks fourth in the Horizon League, and has recorded five double-doubles.
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 (.304) after surpassing the qualifying standard of 1,700 career attempts against Wright State on Feb. 23. Alfano also slots sixth in block assists (259) and is 11 shy of tying Janette Schneider for fifth, and sits seven total blocks shy of matching Leah Dunivan (300; 2013-16) for eighth in that category. This season she ranks 10th in the Horizon League in blocks, averaging 0.91 per set.
Who That Hudak
Junior outside hitter Alyssa Hudak has been RMU's top offensive player this season, pacing her teammates in total points (117.0) and points per set (2.92), while ranking second in total kills (102) and kills per set (2.55). Hudak has five outings of double-figure kills, with two of those coming over the last three matches. The Medina, Ohio native also has three double-doubles to her name in 2021, and four performances of double-digit digs – highlighted by a season-high 12 in the Colonials' win over Youngstown State last Tuesday.
Next Up
RMU completes the regular season with a home doubleheader against Northern Kentucky on March 22. The first match is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start, followed by a 6:00 p.m. opening serve in the nightcap. Both matches can be seen on ESPN+.
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