MATCH 29_­

RMU (7-21, 4-13 #HLVB) at Youngstown State (8-20, 3-14 #HLVB)
Friday, November 10 • 6:00 p.m.
Beeghly Center • Youngstown, Ohio

Can You Dig It?
- The RMU volleyball team wraps up in 2023 campaign when it travels to Youngstown State for its final match of the season on Friday, Nov. 10, at the Beeghly Center.

- The Colonials concluded its home portion of the schedule last week, splitting a pair of matches. RMU dropped a 3-1 decision to IUPUI on Thursday night before securing a 3-1 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne on Senior Day.

- Against the Jags, Rosina Esposito was four digs shy of surpassing 1000 for her career. She collected two quick digs in the opening set before passing the milestone in the third frame. The Coraopolis native now has 148 digs on the season while registering 1023 for her career. She recorded 875 digs in her four-year stint at Susquehanna. Esposito finished with 10 kills, eight digs, and a pair of blocks against IUPUI.

- Emma Brown totaled 12 kills on an impressive .474 attacking percentage while collecting a team-high three blocks. Brown did most of her work in the second and third stanza, where she totaled five kills in set three and four successful swings in frame two.
- Hillarie Adams finished with 11 kills on a career-best .550 hitting percentage and three digs. Ally Christman ended the night with seven kills, four digs, and one ace while Azra Eric posted six successful swings on a .625 clip, one ace, and one block.

- Ashleigh Wallin dished out 25 assists and four digs while recording a pair of aces. Kaitlyn Brown posted 13 helpers and five digs while Allena Carmody secured 15 digs, three assists, and a team-high three aces.

- Against the Mastodons, graduate student Allena Carmody came into the match four digs shy of 1500 career digs. She concurred the milestone in the opening set, registering five in the set victory. Carmody mounted seven digs in both the second and fourth stanza while posting six in the third frame. She finished the evening with 25 digs, two assists, and one ace. Carmody paces the team with 445 digs this season while posting her sixth match with 20+ digs. The Pittsburgh native now has 1,540 digs in her career.

- Four seniors played their final match at the UPMC Events Center in Rosina Esposito, Emma Brown, Allena Carmody, and Abby Ryan. Esposito registered her third kill/dig double-double of the season, posting 19 digs and 15 kills. She recorded four aces, three blocks, and three assists to lead RMU. Brown ended the evening with 12 kills at a .308 clip while posting a season-best six blocks on the evening.

- Adams finished the evening with 13 kills on a .321 hitting percentage while totaling two blocks and two digs. Christman registered her first kill/dig double-double of the season, with 11 kills and 10 digs while Ashleigh Wallin controlled the offense with 27 assists and nine digs. Freshman Katie Cook tallied 22 helpers and one block while Hockman ended with a season-high 14 digs and three service aces.

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The All-Time Series (YSU) – It'll be the 19^th time in the all-time series and the second contest this season when the Colonials and Penguins take the floor Friday night. Youngstown State holds a 13-6 record in the series but the RMU captured a 3-2 victory earlier this October. After dropping the opening set, the Colonials rallied in the second frame, claiming a 25-14 victory. RMU would drop the third stanza before claiming a 25-22 win in set four to force a deciding set.

In its first fifth set of the season, the Colonials came out swinging, grabbing a 3-0 early lead. Brown led the charge with a pair of kills while Stepnaovich found the floor for a point. After a YSU timeout, the Penguins didn't shy away, registering seven of the next nine scores to hold a 7-5 advantage. RMU responded like it had all night, mounting a 5-1 surge to force another YSU timeout and gain a 10-8 lead. After knotting the score at 10-10, tallied five of the final seven points to secure the match. Adams registered a point, followed by a service ace by Ashleigh Wallin and an attacking error by the Penguins. After consecutive kills from YSU, Brown found the floor successfully before junior Jaidan Hockman capped the match with an ace. It's the second time this season Hockman has recorded a match point service ace.

A pair of Colonials lit up the stat sheet against the Penguins as Natalie Stepanovich and Emma Brown both posted season and career-highs. Stepanovich led RMU with her ninth kill/dig double-double of the season, posting a season-best 24 successful swings and 22 digs. She also carded a season-high three blocks while tallying five or more kills in sets one through four. Brown recorded one of her best performances of the season, collecting a career-high 14 kills, two blocks, and two digs for RMU. She posted a .290 attacking percentage while finishing with three or more successful swings in sets two through five. Brown led the charge for the Colonials in the fifth frame, collecting three kills and a .400 hitting percentage.

Hillarie Adams was the third Colonial in double-figures, registering 12 kills, one block, and a dig. Esposito finished with a season-high 13 digs while collecting eight kills and three blocks. Eric paced the squad and set a season-high with five blocks while tallying five kills during the win. Wallin and Cook controlled the pace of the offense as Wallin collected 33 assists, nine digs, and three aces while Cook posted a season-best 22 assists and two digs. Carmody ended the night with 19 digs, four assists, and a service ace against the Penguins.

One Last Time – The Colonials Conclude its season this Friday, with a handful of players still ranked in the Horizon League. Stepanovich sits second with 3.36 kills per set while ranking third with 3.92 points per set. The freshman also sits seventh with 0.38 aces per frame. Wallin currently sits fourth in the league with 41 total aces while sitting fifth with 0.40 service aces per set. She continues to control the offense for RMU, ranking seventh in assists per set (5.56). Brown continues to swing well for the Colonials, ranking seventh in the Horizon League with a .287 attacking percentage. The senior middle blocker has totaled 183 kills while collecting 63 total blocks, which ranks 18^th in the conference. Carmody has been stout on the defensive, collecting 445 digs and 4.32 digs per set which both rank sixth in the league. She has also totaled 26 aces and 0.25 aces per set, both in which rank in the top 25 of the Horizon League.

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