Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU volleyball team hosts its annual home tournament this weekend at the UPMC Events Center with the RMU / Chick-Fil-A Robinson Labor Day Classic. The event will feature Duquesne, Idaho, and Liberty as opponents, with six matches played on Friday, Sept. 3 and Saturday, Sept. 4.
MATCH #4
Liberty Flames (0-0) at RMU Colonials (3-0)
September 3, 2021 // 10:00 a.m. // Moon Township, Pa. – UPMC Events Center (4,000)
Live Video: ESPN+ ($) // Live Stats: RMUColonials.com
MATCH #5
Idaho Vandals (1-2) at RMU Colonials (3-0)
September 3, 2021 // 7:00 p.m. // Moon Township, Pa. – UPMC Events Center (4,000)
Live Video: ESPN+ ($) // Live Stats: RMUColonials.com
MATCH #6
Duquesne Dukes (2-1) at RMU Colonials (3-0)
September 4, 2021 // 2:00 p.m. // Moon Township, Pa. – UPMC Events Center (4,000)
Live Video: ESPN+ ($) // Live Stats: RMUColonials.com
History vs. Opponents
Liberty // Overall: 0-2, Neutral: 0-2 // Last Meeting: L, 0-3 vs. Liberty (11/7/1992)
Idaho // Overall: 0-0 // Last Meeting: N/A
Duquesne // Overall: 10-31, Home: 5-14, Away: 3-14, Neutral: 2-1 // Last Meeting: W, 3-0 vs. Duquesne (9/10/2019)
RMU's home tournament features a long-time local rival in Duquesne, and two opponents that the Colonials haven't played at all (Idaho) or haven't seen in 29 years (Liberty). RMU has played the Flames twice, falling by identical 3-0 scores at the 1991 Marshall Classic and 1992 American Tri Match.
The Colonials snapped a 12-year drought against the Dukes in their most recent meeting on Sept. 10, 2019, as RMU moved to 7-0 in their Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season championship season with a three-set sweep over their local rivals.
Emma Granger led the way against Duquesne with 23.5 points, providing 15 kills on a .591 hitting percentage, five service aces, and five blocks (two solo). Alyssa Hudak added 14 kills at a .379 clip with a block assist, while Maria Alfano connected at a .462 rate with six kills and four assisted rejections. Whitney Brown dished out 43 assists, and Nikolette Zanolli collected a match-high 13 digs.
Last Time Out
RMU opened the 2021 campaign with three victories at the FDU Tournament, defeating Maryland Eastern Shore, Manhattan, and tournament host Fairleigh Dickinson. The Colonials topped the Hawks in both teams' season opener in five sets (25-18, 25-16, 22-25, 21-25, 16-14), then won in three sets against the Jaspers (25-22, 26-24, 25-17) and Knights (25-18, 25-18, 25-18) the next day.
Abby Ryan posted her first career double-double against UMES, registering 20 kills and 12 digs to go along with three service aces. Emma Granger added 14.5 points on eight kills, three block assists, and five service aces – headlined by the match-winner in the fifth set. Alyssa Hudak also reached double figures in kills (10), while Ashleigh Wallin dished out a team-best 30 assists in her collegiate debut.
Ryan nearly had a second double-double versus Manhattan, leading the team with 18 points on 11 kills, nine digs, two aces, and two block assists. Alyson Londot added 10 kills on a .325 hitting percentage, while Granger compiled 10 points on seven kills, four block assists, and an ace. Megan Cannon provided 18 of the team's 38 assists as a team, while Nikolette Zanolli shared the dig lead with Ryan at nine.
It was a balanced effort against FDU, with no player above 7.5 points individually. Meeting that standard was Emma Brown, who connected on half of her 12 swings for six kills and three block assists. Wallin (14) and Cannon (11) registered 25 of the team's 29 helpers, and Ryan and Zanolli scooped a team-best eight digs apiece.
Bobby Mo-Mentum
RMU's three-match sweep at the FDU Tournament was its second straight in season-opening non-conference tournaments, as the Colonials previously took all three matches from the 2019 RMU Sheraton Invitational. Prior to that, RMU last swept a season-opening multi-team event in 2008, as it defeated Lehigh, Loyola (Md.), Marist, and Saint Francis U at the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational.
Season-opening sweeps may be a good omen for the Colonials. In both 2008 and 2019, the Colonials captured the NEC regular-season crown and posted a combined record of 44-15 (23-1 NEC) over those two years. This is the fourth overall time that RMU has accomplished this, previously doing so at the 1987 Saint Francis Quad Match with wins over the Red Flash, St. Bonaventure, and Duquesne.
Wonder Woman's Last Dance
Fifth-year middle blocker Emma Granger was one of two Colonials (Alyson Londot) this season to take advantage of the NCAA waiver granting an extra year of eligibility to student-athletes. Despite playing just 21 sets in the spring due to an ankle injury, Granger's final hurrah will allow her to put a bowl on what has been an illustrious career.
In 2019, the Dalton, Ohio native became the first student-athlete in program history to garner All-Region and All-America recognition after she finished sixth nationally in blocks (1.50), ninth in aces (0.56), and 23rd in points (5.03), and captured NEC Player of the Year honors unanimously. Granger owns the school record in career service aces (193), occupies three of the top-five slots in single-season aces – including the top two – and boasts the single-season total block record of 160 in 2019. She also established new single-match standards for kills (26) and points (33.0) in a five-set marathon against Central Connecticut in 2019, and ranks third all-time at RMU in hitting percentage (.330) and block assists (344), and seventh in total blocks (396).
The psychology major was nominated for the Senior CLASS Award this past spring and also collected East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) Offensive Player of the Year accolades in 2019. She is a three-time All-NEC First Team selection and the 2017 NEC Rookie of the Year.
The Starr File
The program's winningest head coach, Dale Starr, begins his 12th season leading the Colonials in the fall of 2021. Starr broke his predecessor's school record of 130 wins on Nov. 9, 2018 with a three-set triumph over Fairleigh Dickinson, and currently sits at 159 victories during his time at RMU. He eclipsed the 300-win milestone for his career on Nov. 8, 2019 versus Central Connecticut, and has compiled 309 total across three head coaching stops (RMU, McNeese, Mississippi University for Women).
Starr has led the Colonials to a pair of championships, winning the 2015 NEC Tournament and 2019 NEC regular-season crowns. The 2019 NEC Coach of the Year also strives for his team to excel in the classroom, as RMU has won seven NEC Team GPA Awards, eight American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Awards, and the Horizon League Raise Your Sights Award for the school in 2020-21.
New to RMU
RMU's roster features 16 student-athletes, six of which are incoming freshmen in Jaidan Hockman, Tatum Otolski, Ally Christman, Ashleigh Wallin, Page Gross, and Abby Powers. The six hail from four different states (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia) and are made up of two middle blockers, two right sides, a defensive specialist, and setter.
Hockman, a defensive specialist from North Canton, Ohio, was the Stark County Defensive Player of the Year and All-Federal League Second Team as a senior. She helped lead NOVA Club Juniors to the 16 USA Patriot Division title in 2019 and also competed in gymnastics at Jackson.
Otolski, a middle blocker from Grand Rapids, Mich., garnered Under Armour All-America Watch List consideration prior to her senior season at Forest Hills Central. She helped lead the Michigan Volleyball Academy to the 2020 JVA Rock 'N Rumble championship and was an Academic All-America and All-Conference pick in high school.
Christman, a right side from Ross, Ohio, also collected Under Armour All-America Watch List recognition prior to her senior season. She was an All-League First Team and All-District Second Team selection in 2020, and posted 448 kills, .247 hitting percentage, 366 digs, 60 blocks, and 50 aces in 216 career sets at Mount Notre Dame.
Wallin, a setter from Martinsburg, W.Va., was a four-time All-Region, All-Conference, and All-State selection at Martinsburg. She collected Under Armour All-America All-Region and PrepVolleyball.com Special Mention All-America accolades in 2020, and owns the school records at Martinsburg for career assists (2,200) and service aces (289).
Gross, a middle blocker from Hudson, Ohio, graduated from Hudson one year early to join RMU ahead of this season. She led the Suburban League in blocks and hitting percentage in 2019-20, and captured a pair of AVCA Phenom Watch List nods in those same years.
Powers, a right side from Edgewood, Ky., helped lead Notre Dame Academy to four 35th District and two 9th Region championships, as well as a 2019 state semifinalist berth. She was named to the Under Armour All-America Watch List, AVCA Phenom List, and PrepVolleyball.com Frosh 59, and registered 733 kills and 225 blocks over her high school career.
Also "new" to RMU is volunteer assistant coach Lauren Kolenik, who joins the team in a new capacity after graduating in the fall of 2020. Kolenik previously spent two seasons on the Colonials roster, factoring heavily into the team's 2019 NEC regular-season title run. In that campaign, she ranked third on the team in kills (2.54), digs (2.85), and points (2.99), and fifth in blocks (0.53) while appearing in 96 total sets.
Up Next
RMU hits the road next weekend for the George Mason Invitational on Sept. 10-11. The Colonials open with two matches on Friday, playing Coppin State (1:30 p.m.) and Morgan State (4:00 p.m.) back-to-back. RMU's final match is against Marist at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Gameday App
