Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU volleyball team concluded the non-conference portion of its 2022 schedule Saturday at the Fairfield Inn and Suites Dunn Campbell Invitational in Buies Creek, N.C., falling to The Citadel, 3-1, at Gore Arena. The Colonials enter Horizon League action with an overall mark of 7-5 (.583).
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The opening set featured 11 ties and five lead swings, with the final stalemate coming after a kill by Ali Ruffin of The Citadel knotted the score, 18-18. Junior outside hitter
Abby Ryan responded with a kill, which spurred the Colonials on a 7-4 run to close out the victory. In addition to two kills from Ryan, RMU also got spikes from freshman
Hillarie Adams and junior
Emma Brown. Nine of the 15 kills in the first set for the Colonials came courtesy of Ryan, who recorded a .538 hitting percentage as RMU finished at .324 in the opener.
TWO, THREE
RMU and The Citadel were locked, 15-15, in the second after a kill from sophomore
Page Gross, but the Bulldogs posted the run this time, outscoring the Colonials, 10-2, the rest of the set. The Citadel (6-6) were aided by six attack errors by RMU, including three in the final four points of the set. The Bulldogs used the equalizer in the match to bolster their efforts early in the third, grabbing a 4-1 lead thanks to a pair of service aces by Kenzie Kellerman. The Colonials surged back to tie it on kills from Adams and Ryan on consecutive possessions, but The Citadel slowly pulled away, using an 8-5 spurt to close out the third. In the deciding set the Bulldogs never trailed, grabbing a 10-5 advantage en route to the clincher.
QUOTABLE
"Our non-conference schedule was one of the tougher that we've played in some time," RMU Head Coach
Danny Doherty said. "While this weekend's tournament didn't necessarily go as we had hoped, there are some valuable experiences and lessons that I think our team learned about themselves throughout the entire preseason. We have a quick turnaround since league play starts Tuesday, and that's when the most important part of the season begins."
RYAN AIR
Ryan earned a spot on the Fairfield Inn and Suites Dunn Campbell Invitational All-Tournament Team after pacing the Colonials Saturday with a season-high 19 kills. She also added seven digs and three blocks and will enter Horizon League play pacing RMU in kills (113) and kills per set (2.97) while also owning a .206 hitting percentage and 82 digs.
UP NEXT
The Colonials return to the UPMC Events Center Tuesday, Sept. 20, for a 6:00 p.m. match against Oakland to open Horizon League play. Its non-conference record for 2022 settled at 7-5 (.583), the Colonials improved to 24-11 (.686) outside of league play since the beginning of the 2019 campaign.
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