Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU volleyball team concluded play in the Mountaineer Invitational Friday, splitting a pair of 3-0 decisions at the WVU Coliseum. The Colonials opened the day by falling to No. 20 Penn State, 3-0, before defeating George Washington in straight sets. RMU will enter Horizon League play with an overall record of 7-5 (.583).
MATCH 1 vs. No. 20 PENN STATE • L, 3-0
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Allie Holland posted a match-high 11 kills in 16 attempts without an error, producing a .688 hitting percentage in the process, to help bolster the Nittany Lions. She also added five blocks as Penn State hit .451 on the match. RMU owned a 6-4 lead in the first set after a kill from graduate student
Alyson Londot and also owned a 7-5 advantage after a kill from sophomore
Emma Brown. Penn State rallied with a 9-2 run to grab a 14-9 lead as Holland and Jonni Parker each provided a pair of kills. The Nittany Lions eventually extended the lead to 22-12 en route to a 25-13 win in the first set.
BACK AND FORTH
RMU again grabbed an early lead, 2-0, in a second set that featured five ties thanks to kills from graduate student
Emma Granger and Londot. Freshman
Ashleigh Wallin gave the Colonials their final lead, 10-9, with a service ace before the Nittany Lions used a 12-3 spurt to open up a 21-13 cushion. Penn State hit .600 in the third set to conclude the victory with a 25-12 win. Senior
Alyssa Hudak paced the Colonials with five kills against PSU, while Granger notched four kills, a .300 attack percentage and five blocks, including three solo stuffs.
MATCH 2 vs. GEORGE WASHINGTON • W, 3-0
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
In a battle of Colonials, George Washington grabbed a 13-10 in the first set after a pair of service aces by Bella Bowman. RMU used its first timeout of the match to perfection, stemming the tide out of the break with a 9-3 surge. Ryan started the salvo with a kill and a service ace, while Granger added three consecutive aces to push the Colonials in front. Senior
Emily Devlin helped RMU snap an eight-set slide with a kill for a 25-18 triumph.
RALLY CAPS
RMU again fell behind in the second set, 9-4, as Lauren LaBeck converted a service ace for George Washington. The pair of Colonials combined for 23 aces in the three sets, including 15 from RMU. Londot ignited a 20-5 run for the Colonials with a kill off a feed from Wallin that turned a four-point deficit into a 10-point lead, 24-14. Londot had three kills during the surge, while Granger and Hudak each had a pair. The duo of Londot and Hudak combined for 14 kills and a .324 hitting percentage to pace RMU as it snapped a three-match losing streak.
ACE OF SPADES
Granger, who owns the RMU school record for career service aces with 217, added another record to her already impressive resume Friday against the Colonials. Her eight service aces not only set a new career high but also established an RMU single-match record. Former Colonials Darcey Miller (2001-04) and Amanda Graham (2007-10) shared the old record of seven aces and a standard that had stood since 2004. Miller originally set the mark in a 3-0 win @ Sacred Heart (11/12/04), while Graham matched it in a 3-1 victory @ Stetson (9/6/08) as part of the 2008 Holiday Inn Stetson Invitational.
UP NEXT
RMU returns to the UPMC Events Center to open Horizon League play Friday, Sept. 24, with a 6:00 p.m. match against Cleveland State. The match against the Vikings is the first of four consecutive at home for the Colonials.
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