Fairfax, Va. – The RMU volleyball team concluded play at the Mason Invite Saturday in Fairfax, Va., splitting a pair of matches. The Colonials fell to Brown in their opener, 3-0 before bouncing back against Radford to secure a 3-1 victory at the Recreation and Athletic Complex.

With the split, RMU sits at 3-5 overall while the Bears improve to 7-0 and the Highlanders fall to 1-8 this season.

MATCH 1 vs Brown • L, 3-0

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
In the opening set, Brown used a 13-4 run to begin the match while using 18 kills and a .375 attacking percentage to claim a 25-19 win. In set two, the two squads traded the opening 12 points before the Colonials used an 8-2 run to grab a 14-8 advantage. Freshman Natalie Stepanovich paced the surge with three kills while senior Abby Ryan and sophomore Kaitlyn Brown registered a successful swing. Freshman Azra Eric capped off the run with a service ace. Later in the set, RMU held a 17-13 lead before the Bears scored four of the next five points to trim the deficit, 18-17. After a service error and a kill by Stepanovich, Brown netted four consecutive points to grab a 21-20 advantage. Brown and Stepanovich would register successful swings before the Bears rattled off a 4-1 run to take the set.

TRIPLE SET
In set three, Brown jumped out to a 9-6 lead before the Colonials trimmed the deficit to 12-10 on a pair of kills by Stepanovich and Kaitlyn Brown. The Bears responded with five consecutive points to hold a 17-10 advantage before securing a 21-14 lead later in the set. RMU continued to battle by responding with four straight points, thanks in part to a pair of kills from sophomore Hillarie Adams and points from Ryan and Brown, 21-18.\

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Natalie Stepanovich paced the Colonials with a team-best 16 kills while collecting two digs and a block. Abby Ryan registered her third double-double of the year, with a season high 21 digs and 15 kills, along with one block. Ashleigh Wallin finished with a team-high 17 assists, five digs, and two service aces while Kaitlyn Brown carded 15 assists and nine digs against Brown. Graduate student Allena Carmody posted 11 digs while senior Emma Brown carded a team-high three blocks along with two kills.

MATCH 2 vs Radford • W, 3-1

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
In the first set, Radford jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before Stepanovich carded three consecutive points and Esposito registered a kill to knot the score at 4-4. The Colonials then used an 8-3 surge to jump out to a 13-8 advantage, thanks to a pair of kills from Ryan and a successful swing from Esposito. Later in the set, RMU held a 19-14 lead before the Highlanders rattled off five consecutive scores to make it an even 19-19 all. The Colonials would rally as they ended the set by scoring six of the last nine points, thanks in part to a pair of kills by Ryan and a score by Kaitlyn Brown to take the opening set 25-22.

BOUNCE BACK
Radford used 17 kills and an impressive .536 hitting percentage to secure a 25-20 set two victory. In the third set, after an opening point by Radford, the Colonials rallied and rattled off an 11-3 run to hold a 11-4 advantage. RMU continued to dominate as it used an 11-5 surge to extend its lead, 22-9. Ryan, Stepanovich, and Esposito all registered a pair of kills while Hillarie Adams and Emma Brown carded points to lead the charge. After a Highlanders point, Ryan recorded a pair of successful swings and Esposito found the floor to cap off the third set and secure a win for RMU, 25-11. The Colonials used 13 kills, a .462 hitting percentage, and just one error to secure set three.

MATCH POINT … SECURED
RMU continued to stay hot, as they carded 14 kills and a .385 attacking percentage in the fourth set to secure the match victory. After trading the first four points of the set, the Colonials exploded with a 10-4 run to hold a 12-6 lead early. Wallin started the run with a service ace before Brown and Esposito registered a block for RMU. Ryan led the charge with three kills while Stepanovich and Esposito each netted a point. After back-to-back points by Radford, the Colonials scored eight of the next 12 points, thanks in part to kills from Adams, Esposito, and Stepanovich, to hold a 20-12 advantage. The two squads went back-and-forth until Ryan capped the match with a successful swing and gave RMU the victory, 25-16.

THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE
Abby Ryan paced the Colonials with 18 kills and a .341 hitting percentage on 41 attempts. She also carded four digs in the win. Natalie Stepanovich finished with nine kills, four digs, and a season-high five service aces for RMU. Rosina Esposito recorded eight successful swings, a season best four blocks, and two digs while Emma Brown tallied five kills, four blocks, and two digs against the Highlanders. Ashleigh Wallin controlled the Colonials offense with 28 assists, seven digs and one service ace while Kaitlyn Brown netted 10 assists, two kills, and a pair of digs in the win. Allena Carmody ended with a team-high 15 digs along with three assists and a service ace.

ALL-TOURNEY
Junior setter Ashleigh Wallin was selected to the 2023 Mason Invite All-Tournament Team for her play over the weekend. In three matches, Wallin carded 64 total assists, 17 digs, and four service aces. She opened the tournament against George Mason by leading the team with 19 assists, five digs, and a service ace before posting 17 assists, five digs, and a pair of service aces against Brown. The West Virginia native ended the tournament with a team-high 28 assists, seven digs, and one service ace against Radford.

UP NEXT
RMU concludes non-conference play when it travels to Morgantown, W.Va., for the Mountaineer Invitational. The Colonials open with North Dakota State (9/14) before closing the tournament against Old Dominion (9/15) and the host West Virginia (9/15).

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