MATCHES 9-10-11

RMU (3-5) vs North Dakota State (6-2)
Thursday, September 14 • 12:30 p.m.
WVU Coliseum • Morgantown, W.Va.
 
RMU (3-5) vs. Old Dominion (5-5)
Thursday, September 14 • 3:30 p.m.
WVU Coliseum • Morgantown, W.Va.
 
RMU (3-5) vs. West Virginia (4-5)
Friday, September 15 • 6:00 p.m.
WVU Coliseum • Morgantown, W.Va.
 
Can You Dig It?

• The Colonials wrap up non-conference action when it travels to Morgantown, W.Va., to take part in the Mountaineer Invitational. RMU begins the tournament with a pair of neutral site matches against North Dakota State (9/14) and Old Dominion (9/14) before closing the tournament against the host West Virginia.
• The RMU volleyball team traveled to Fairfax, Va. for the Mason Invite last weekend, finishing 1-2. The Colonials dropped its opening sets against George Mason and Brown before ending the Invite with a 3-1 victory over Radford.
• 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.
• Against the Patriots, a pair of Colonials ended with double-figure kills, paced by Abby Ryan with 12. She carded her sixth straight game with double digit kills while also collecting eight digs and three blocks. Rosina Esposito ended with 10 kills and a .320 hitting percentage along with just two errors and three blocks.
• Natalie Stepanovich fell shy of another double-double with nine kills and nine digs as well as a service ace for RMU. Ashleigh Wallin controlled the offense for the Colonials, finishing with 19 assists, five digs, and one service ace while Kaitlyn Brown produced 15 assists, four digs, and three kills.
• In its second match against Brown, Stepanovich paced the Colonials with a team-best 16 kills while collecting two digs and a block. Ryan registered her third double-double of the year, with a season high 21 digs and 15 kills, along with one block.
• 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.
• In the victory over the Highlanders, Ryan led RMU with 18 kills and a .341 hitting percentage on 41 attempts. She also carded four digs in the win. Stepanovich finished with nine kills, four digs, and a season-high five service aces for the Colonials.
• Esposito recorded eight successful swings, a season best four blocks, and two digs while Brown tallied five kills, four blocks, and two digs against Radford. 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.
• RMU returns home to the UPMC Events Center to open Horizon League play after taking part in the Mountaineer Invitational. The Colonials will host defending champions, Wright State Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 6:00 p.m.

MOUNTAINEER INVITATIONAL
Live Stats vs North Dakota State (9/14/23)
Video vs North Dakota State (9/14/23)
Live Stats vs Old Dominion (9/14/23)
Video vs Old Dominion (9/14/23)
Live Stats @ West Virginia (9/15/23)
Video @ West Virginia (9/15/23)

The All-Time Series (North Dakota State) – Come Saturday afternoon, it'll be just the third meeting between the Colonials and Bison in the all-time series. North Dakota State has won the first two meetings against RMU as the two squads haven't met since 2014. In part of the Panther Invitational in Milwaukee, Wisc., the Colonials dropped a five-set heartbreaker to at the J. Martin Klotsche Center. Sophomore outside hitter Arden Fisher (2013-16) registered 19 kills and 15 digs while classmate April Krivoniak (2013-16) and senior middle blocker Becky Jay (2011-14) added 14 and eight kills, respectively.

The All-Time Series (Old Dominion) – Thursday's match against the Monarchs will be the first meeting between the two squads in program history. Old Dominion is just one of two teams on the schedule that the Colonials are facing for the first time in 2023.

The All-Time Series (West Virginia) – Friday's contest against the Mountaineers will mark the 12^th all-time meeting in the series as West Virginia holds an 8-3 mark. The two squads last met in 2017 when the Mountaineers captured a 3-0 victory at home. Alyson Londot (2017-21) paced the Colonials with nine kills while collecting four digs. Emma Granger (2017-21), Taylor Lord (2015-18), and Skylar Clements (2017-20) all tallied three kills each.

Offensive Firepower – Following their first eight matches of the season, a handful of Colonials sit among the top spots in the Horizon League. Senior outside hitter Abby Ryan currently paces the conference in kills per set (4.07) while ranking second in points per set (4.35). Ryan has registered double-digit kills in all eight contests this season while collecting three kill/dig double-doubles. In her first season with the blue and white, freshman outside hitter Natalie Stepanovich sits in the top 10 of the leagues in kills per set (3.10) and hitting percentage (.244) while totaling 93 successful swings through eight matches. Stepanovich has posted five matches with double-digit kills and three matches with dig/kill double-doubles. The Ohio native currently sits sixth in the Horizon League with 3.73 points a set.

Control The Pace – Through the three tournaments RMU has played in, a pair of setters have controlled the offense for the Colonials. Junior setter Ashleigh Wallin ranks eighth in the conference with 5.87 assists per set while totaling 176 to begin the year. Wallin has recorded four games with 20+ assists while sitting fourth in the Horizon League in service aces (13). The West Virginia native surpassed 1000 career assists earlier this season and totals 1170 in her three seasons with the Colonials.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Brown continues to produce for RMU after having an explosive freshman campaign. She's totaled 18+ assists three times this season while tallying a pair of assist/dig double-doubles. The Ohio native has totaled four service aces this season while registering over 750 assists in her career.

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