Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU volleyball team continued a three-match homestand Friday at the UPMC Events Center by picking up its first Horizon League victory of the year with a 3-2 triumph over Purdue Fort Wayne. The win improves the Colonials to 8-9 (.471) overall during the 2022 season, including 1-4 (.250) against #HLVB foes.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Improving to 3-0 in 2022 when playing five sets, the Colonials jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match thanks to a 25-20 win in the opening set and a 25-19 triumph in the second. RMU produced an attack percentage of .417 in the first set and used a 9-4 run that turned a 12-12 stalemate into a 21-16 advantage. Junior outside
Abby Ryan led a balanced offense as one of five Colonials to post at least two kills in the opener, notching five. The victory in the first seemed to energize RMU, which jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the second set. The Mastodons closed to within 17-15 thanks to a 5-2 spurt, but the Colonials sealed the win and grabbed a 2-0 edge on a kill from fifth-year
Alyssa Hudak.
ROUND AND ROUND
Purdue Fort Wayne (5-10 / 1-3 #HLVB) bounced back in the third, getting four kills each from Ramei Jackson, Sidney Schiller and Iris Reigel to earn a 25-19 victory. Like RMU in the second, the win in the third energized the Mastodons in the fourth, as Purdue Fort Wayne opened the set with a kill from Ramei. In a set that featured a whopping 16 ties and six lead changes, the Mastodons grabbed a 22-20 advantage thanks to a pair of attack errors by the Colonials. Hudak came back with a kill for RMU, but Schiller answered with one of her own to keep the lead at two for Purdue Fort Wayne. A kill from Hudak was surrounded by a timeout from RMU and a timeout by the Mastodons, with Taya Haffner and Milly Mirabelli coming out of the latter break with kills to give Purdue Fort Wayne a 25-22 win in the fourth, setting up the finale.
FIVE AGAINST ONE
Tied, 2-2, in the deciding set, RMU used a 6-2 surge to grab an 8-4 lead before the two teams switched benches. Ryan ignited the run with a kill on a feed from senior
Allena Carmody, while Hudak added another. Purdue Fort Wayne scored the next two points before junior outside hitter
Annie Monaco answered with a kill for the Colonials. An unsuccessful challenge by Purdue Fort Wayne followed, but Reigel helped the cause for the Mastodons with a kill. Consecutive attack errors gave RMU an 11-7 cushion, forcing Purdue Fort Wayne to call timeout. Junior middle blocker
Emma Brown helped keep the Mastodons at bay with a spike, while Hudak sealed the win with a pair of kills on the final two points for RMU in a 15-11 victory.
QUOTABLE
"We made some timely adjustments," RMU head coach
Danny Doherty said. "We've had a lot of success in five setters this year. We just want them to stay even and be effective within the system that we run. Be effective with what's open with the ball. They didn't get too high or too low, and I know that sounds like coach speak but that's what we preach. Our girls were overall actively engaged tonight, and I'm proud they were able to pull out a tough match. They deserved it."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Ryan led a balanced offense for the Colonials, posting 16 kills and finishing a dig shy of a double-double. Recording the double-double for RMU, her fourth of the year, was Monaco, who finished with 11 kills, a .259 attack percentage and 14 digs. Hudak chipped in 12 kills and six block assists as the trio combined for 43.5 points on the night. For Purdue Fort Wayne, Schiller notched a double-double with match highs in both kills (22) and digs (15). Carmody also extended her streak of consecutive matches with at least 10 digs to 15 with 12 and in the process eclipsed 900 for her career. She owns 905 entering Saturday's match. The Colonials also improved to 2-0 this season when both
Kaitlyn Brown and
Ashleigh Wallin eclipse 20 assists. Wallin notched 25, while Brown contributed 21.
UP NEXT
Saturday's match features a 4:00 p.m. first serve between RMU and IUPUI that concludes a three-match homestand for the Colonials at the UPMC Events Center.
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