Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU volleyball team concluded play in the JMU Invitational Saturday in Harrisonburg, Va., splitting a pair of matches. The Colonials fell in their opener at Sinclair Gymnasium, 3-0, to the host Dukes before rebounding for their first win of the 2022 campaign with a 3-1 triumph over UAlbany. Thanks to the win over the Great Danes, RMU picked up its first victory under head coach
Danny Doherty.
MATCH 1 @ James Madison • L, 3-0
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
In their first true road match of the season, the Colonials fell behind early, as the Dukes grabbed leads of 5-2, 8-4 and 12-6 in the opening set. JMU would eventually grab a 25-14 win in the opening set, producing a .467 hitting percentage. Overall, the Dukes finished with an attack percentage of .449, producing 42 kills against just seven errors in 78 total attempts. The quartet of Miëtte Veldman, Sophine Davis, Cameryn Jones and Savannah Cockrill combined for 35 kills against just three errors and combined to hit .561. Veldman finished with a match-high 15 kills, while Davis chipped in 10.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Sophomore
Abby Powers and junior
Abby Ryan each tallied six kills against James Madison to pace RMU, while junior
Annie Monaco added five kills, a pair of service aces and five digs.
MATCH 2 vs. UAlbany • W, 3-1
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Trailing, 1-0, after the Great Danes won the opening set, 25-23, the Colonials surged to a 17-10 lead in set two on consecutive kills from Powers and sophomore
Page Gross. UAlbany responded with a 12-3 run to take a 22-20 lead as it looked to grab a 2-0 advantage in the match, but RMU didn't wilt. Freshman
Kaitlyn Brown fed junior
Annie Monaco for a kill, which spearheaded a 5-3 spurt to close out a set victory and tie the match, 1-1. Ryan came up big with her fourth kill of the set to give the Colonials the victory.
QUOTABLE
"Facing off against three quality teams to open the season, I'm really proud of the resilience we showed today," RMU head coach
Danny Doherty said. "We certainly had our moments of adversity, especially in the second and third sets against Albany, but I thought winning that second set really seemed to calm us down. We got into a good rhythm on offense after that, and playing in close sets this early in the season is only going to help bolster our confidence as we move throughout the season."
THREE'S COMPANY
UAlbany (0-3) grabbed an early 5-0 lead in the third set before a 10-4 run that was capped by a service ace from Ryan pushed the Colonials on top, 10-9. The back-and-forth affair from the second set continued in the third, as set three featured nine ties and five lead changes. Overall in the tilt, RMU and UAlbany notched 30 ties and 16 lead changes. The Great Danes owned an 18-17 lead in the third set before Ryan tied it, 18-18, with a kill, igniting an 8-5 run to close it out. Brown posted back-to-back service aces after the kill from Ryan, and RMU picked up its second set of the match after a service error by Zosia Szczotkiewicz.
SEALING THE DEAL
Ryan continued her stellar play in the deciding set for the Colonials, recording back-to-back kills early in the fourth to snap a 4-4 tie and give RMU a lead it would never relinquish. She added consecutive kills later on, including one on a feed from sophomore
Ashleigh Wallin, to push the advantage for RMU to 15-11. Monaco also got a feed from Wallin on a kill that gave the Colonials a 21-18 lead, and Monaco followed with a service ace to help bolster RMU en route to the win. Ryan posted six kills in the deciding set against just one error and overall paced the Colonials against the Great Danes with 15 kills, two service aces and six digs.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Monaco finished just a dig shy of her first double-double of the 2022 campaign and stuffed the stat sheet, recording 12 kills, a .333 attack percentage, nine digs, two service aces and three blocks. As a team the Colonials hit .225, including .367 in the fourth set to seal the victory.
UP NEXT
RMU returns home to the UPMC Events Center for a pair of matches Friday, Sept. 2, as part of the Chick-fil-A Robinson Labor Day Classic. The Colonials welcome William & Mary for an 11:00 a.m. match before hosting Canisius at 6:00 p.m.
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