Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU volleyball team opened play in the George Mason Invitational Friday by stretching its winning streak to three with a pair of victories. The Colonials posted a come-from-behind five-set triumph over Coppin State, 3-2, before defeating Morgan State, 3-1.
MATCH 1 vs. COPPIN STATE • W, 3-2
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Eagles had control early and seemed poised to put the match away in the third set, owning a 22-15 lead after a kill from Paoloa Caten. The Colonials, however, closed the set on a 10-1 surge to grab a 25-23 victory. Freshman
Ashleigh Wallin got the ball rolling with a kill, and RMU got a boost from the serves of sophomore
Annie Monaco, who produced a pair of aces while forcing Coppin State into a ball handling error as well as a bad set. Sophomore
Emma Brown completed the tide shift with a kill on a feed from Wallin to pull RMU to within 23-22, and a Kyndall Johnson attack error tied the set, 23-23. Graduate student
Emma Granger finished off the comeback, producing a pair of kills on feeds from Wallin to send the game to a fourth set.
FOUR STARS
RMU fell behind early in the fourth set but got huge contributions from Brown and Monaco, who combined for nine kills and a .471 attack percentage as the Colonials as a team posted a hitting percentage of .406, suffering just one attack error. Senior
Alyssa Hudak snapped an 18-18 tie during the fourth with a kill on a feed from Wallin, while Brown scored the final three points to seal the win and was one of three Colonials to finish in double digits in kills in the triumph.
FINISHING THE JOB
In the fifth set the Colonials never trailed, opening up a 5-2 lead after a kill from Brown and keeping that three-point distance at 8-5 after yet another kill from the native of Westerville, Ohio. RMU closed the deciding set by scoring four of the final five points, including a pair of kills each from both Monaco and Hudak. Monaco recorded her first collegiate double-double in the win, leading the Colonials with 17 kills while adding 16 digs and three service aces. Granger notched 12 kills, four blocks and a team-high .417 attack percentage, while Brown finished with 13 kills and a .357 hitting percentage.
MATCH 2 vs. MORGAN STATE • W, 3-1
FAST START
Buoyed by the finish against the Eagles, RMU grabbed the first two sets against Morgan State, 25-11 and 25-14. The Colonials were efficient in both sets, suffering just one attack error in 20 attempts to register a .450 attack percentage in the first while getting six kills and a .625 attack percentage from Monaco in the second.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Morgan State earned a 25-23 victory in the third, erasing an early 8-2 deficit en route to the win. Mackenzie Jefferson produced a trio of service aces to start the fourth set to help bolster the Bears to a 7-0 advantage, but RMU steadied the ship, using a 9-2 surge to tie the set after consecutive kills from sophomore
Abby Ryan. Freshman
Abby Powers gave the Colonials their first lead of the fourth, 11-10, with a kill, and she capped a 7-2 run to close the set and seal the match victory with another kill. Both kills for Powers came off feeds from senior
Megan Cannon.
CAREER DAY
Monaco entered the George Mason Invitational with 28 career kills to her credit, and Friday she more than doubled that total. One match after registering her first career double-double, Monaco paced the Colonials again in the victory over the Bears with 15 kills, a .542 attack percentage, three service aces, six digs and four blocks. In the two matches she scored 40 points and compiled 32 kills, 22 digs, five service aces and five blocks while hitting .361. As a team Friday, RMU recorded a hitting percentage of .289 in the two matches.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
RMU entered the George Mason Invitational leading the Horizon League in opponent attack percentage and held strong in the first day of the tournament. Coppin State finished with a hitting percentage of .176, while Morgan State (0-9) finished at .103. Less than a week after establishing a career high in digs in a five-set win over Duquesne, junior
Allena Carmody racked up 44 digs in the two wins Friday, including a new personal best with 29 in the triumph over Coppin State.
HUNTERS & COLLECTORS
Thanks to the two wins Saturday, RMU improved to 17-3 (.850) combined against Coppin State and Morgan State. The Colonials are a perfect 10-0 all-time against the Eagles as well as 7-3 (.700) against the Bears.
UP NEXT
The Colonials conclude their portion of the George Mason Invitational Saturday, Sept. 11, by taking on Marist at 4:00 p.m. at the Recreation Athletic Complex.
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