Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University volleyball team finishes up the road portion of its spring schedule on March 8-9 when it heads to Youngstown State. These two meetings mark the 10th consecutive season that the Colonials and Penguins have played, and the first time since 1999 that they have met twice in one year.
MATCH #11/12
Robert Morris Colonials (0-10, 0-10 HL) @ Youngstown State Penguins (2-6, 2-6 HL)
March 8-9, 2021 // 6:00 p.m. / 5:00 p.m. // Youngstown, Ohio – Beeghly Center (6,300)
Live Video: ESPN+ (Mon. / Tues.) // Live Stats: YSUSports.com (Mon. / Tues.)
History w/ Youngstown State
Overall: 7-31 | Home: 5-12 | Away: 2-12 | Neutral: 0-5 | Streak: L1
Last Game: Sept. 20, 2019 – Youngstown, Ohio – Youngstown State 3, Robert Morris 0
RMU is 7-31 all-time against their I-76 rivals, and has only won twice in Youngstown. 2021 may bring a good omen on that front however, as the Colonials' previous two road victories in the series have come in 2001 and 2011.
RMU's 10-0 undefeated start last season was brought to an end by the Penguins in three sets. Emma Granger recorded a team-high 12 kills on a .375 hitting percentage, joining Alyssa Hudak (11) and Lauren Kolenik (10) in double digits. Kolenik added 16 digs for a double-double, while Nikolette Zanolli led the team in that category with 19. Whitney Brown provided 37 assists in the defeat.
Scouting the Penguins
Led by second-year head coach Aline Scott, Youngstown State enters this two-match set at 2-6 with a season-opening sweep of IUPUI. The Penguins haven't won a set since then however, losing twice to Purdue Fort Wayne, UIC, and Northern Kentucky. YSU went 8-24 (2-14 HL) in 2019 and were picked to finish 11th in the Horizon League Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 17 points.
Sophomore right side Josi Borum leads the Penguins offensively in kills per set (2.77) and points per set (3.00). Junior Alexia Byrnes and freshman Lexie Beeke share the setting duties, averaging 4.31 and 3.04 assists per frame, respectively. Defensively, senior libero Margaux Thompson paces her teammates with 3.07 digs per set, and sophomore middle blocker Aimee Beaupre is averaging a team-best 0.52 blocks per frame.
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 (175), and ranks third in hitting percentage (.337), fourth in block assists (326), and seventh in total blocks (374).
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 (.303) after surpassing the qualifying standard of 1,700 career attempts against Wright State on Feb. 23. Alfano also slots seventh in block assists (248) and is seven shy of tying Amanda Craig (255; 2009-12) for seventh, and sits one total block 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 2,162 to her name. She surpassed Alyssa Bennett (2008-09) for eighth, and now is 13 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 9.13 helpers per set this season.
Who That Hudak
Junior outside hitter Alyssa Hudak has been RMU's top offensive player this season, pacing her teammates in total kills (86), total points (96.5), and points per set (2.92), while ranking second in kills per set (2.61). Hudak is coming off a performance at Cleveland State this past Tuesday where she hit .478 with a team-high 12 kills. The Medina, Ohio native has recorded three double-doubles in 2021 and four outings of double-figure kills.
Next Up
RMU returns to Moon Township to complete the regular season with a four-match home stand. The first two games are set for March 15-16 against IUPUI, beginning with a 6:00 p.m. start on Monday and 5:00 p.m. opening serve the following day. Tuesday, March 16 will serve as the team's Senior Day, as the Colonials will recognize Maria Alfano, Whitney Brown, Skylar Clements, Mirna Sarjanovic, and Erika Wilt following the match's conclusion.
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