Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU volleyball team earned back-to-back wins for the first time during the 2022 season Saturday in closing out the Chick-fil-A Robinson Labor Day Classic, earning a 3-2 triumph over crosstown rival Duquesne at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. In earning a come-from-behind victory over the Dukes, the Colonials evened their overall record on the season to 3-3 (.500).
SETTING THE STAGE
For the fourth consecutive match, RMU split its first two sets with an opponent, as Duquesne (1-5) opened with a 25-19 win before the Colonials came back to tie it by taking the second set, 25-16. In the third, RMU opened up a 15-11 advantage and also led, 20-18, before the Dukes used a 7-2 spurt to grab a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-22 victory.
DÉJÀ VU
Abby Ryan would give the Colonials a 15-11 cushion in the fourth set with a kill, and RMU again led, 20-18, after another stuff from Ryan and an attack error by Anna Shoemake of Duquesne. The Colonials wouldn't let the Dukes go on a run this time, as Ryan was in a zone, scoring four of RMU's final five points of the set, including a kill on a feed from rookie
Kaitlyn Brown, that sealed a 25-20 triumph and forced a fifth and deciding set. In the fourth set, Ryan notched six kills without an error to go along with a .353 hitting percentage while also notching three digs.
FIVE AGAINST ONE
The inspired play bolstered the Colonials in the fifth set, as a 5-1 surge snapped a 2-2 tie and gave RMU a 7-3 lead, forcing Duquesne to call timeout. Ryan was in the middle of the action again, igniting the run with a kill off a feed from sophomore
Ashleigh Wallin, while Brown provided a service ace and a kill and junior
Annie Monaco capped it with another slam. Duquesne would close to within 9-7, but the Colonials scored the final six points of the match to seal their first five-set triumph under RMU head coach
Danny Doherty. Monaco pushed the RMU lead to 10-7 with a kill after an attack error, and Wallin served for the final five points, notching a pair of service aces in the deciding surge.
RYAN HOMES
Ryan became the third different student-athlete for the Colonials to notch a double-double during the 2022 season Saturday against the Dukes, pacing RMU with 17 kills while also recording a .295 hitting percentage, a pair of service aces and 14 digs. Monaco added 16 kills and nine digs, missing her third consecutive double-double by a dig, while junior
Emma Brown continued her consistent play in the middle. She reached double figures in kills for the first time in 2022 with 12 and also led the Colonials with a .647 attack percentage. In the first six matches of the year, Brown owns 32 kills against just four errors in 47 total chances, producing a hefty hitting percentage of .596.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Wallin joined Ryan with a double-double against Duquesne, also her first of the 2022 season, by handing out 29 assists while posting 10 digs. Wallin has teamed with
Kaitlyn Brown to give the Colonials a solid combo at setter, as Brown finished with 18 assists Saturday in the win while also posting a pair of kills and nine digs.
QUOTABLE
"Having an offense run by Ashleigh and Kaitlyn has been great," Doherty said. "Right now they're really taking advantage of the opportunities we're giving them. They're also two of our best servers, so we like having them on the court because of that. You can tell both of them are getting comfortable in terms of getting a grasp of how we want to run our offense, and the more comfortable they get the more comfortable their teammates are, too."
UP NEXT
RMU heads to Morehead, Ky., for more tournament action, taking part in the Morehead State Comfort Inn-vitational Friday, Sept. 9, and Saturday, Sept. 10. The Colonials open the tournament Friday at 1:00 p.m. against North Alabama before a 7:00 p.m. match against the host Eagles. An 11:00 a.m. first serve against Quinnipiac Saturday, Sept. 10, will conclude the invitational for RMU.
Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | RMU Athletics Gameday App
