Morgantown, W.Va. – The RMU volleyball team opened play at the Mountaineer Invitational Thursday in Morgantown, W.Va., dropping a pair of matches. The Colonials suffered a 3-0 defeat in its opener against North Dakota State before falling to Old Dominion, 3-0 at the WVU Coliseum.

With the pair of losses, RMU falls to 3-7 on the season while the Bison improve to 7-2 overall and the Monarchs hold a 7-5 mark in 2023.

MATCH 1 vs North Dakota State • L, 3-0

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
In the opening stanza, North Dakota State jumped out to an early 4-1 lead before the Colonials scored four of the next seven points to trim the deficit. Junior Abby Powers and sophomore Hillarie Adams each posted kills during the run. Later in the set, after a service ace by sophomore Kaitlyn Brown, the Bison used an 8-2 surge to grab its largest advantage in the set, 21-12. RMU would continue to battle as Powers, senior Emma Brown, and freshman Natalie Stepanovich all registered successful swings to trim the lead, 24-18. North Dakota State used an impressive .500 hitting percentage and 18 kills to take set one.

TWO TO THE THREE
After a back-and-forth affair to begin set two, the Bison used an 8-3 run to stretch its lead and secure a two-set advantage. North Dakota State would jump out to an early 6-2 lead in set three before RMU mounted a 4-2 surge to trim the deficit, 8-6. Stepanovich and Powers each registered a successful swing during the run. The Bison would counter by scoring seven of the next 10 points to stretch its lead midway through the set. Later, Kaitlyn Brown and Adams would help the Colonials score three of the next four points to trim the North Dakota State advantage, 22-15.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Emma Brown paced RMU with eight kills and a .313 attacking percentage while collecting a block. She carded an impressive .833 hitting percentage in set one, with five kills and no errors to lead the Colonials. Abby Powers and Natalie Stepanovich each posted six kills while Stepanovich tallied five digs and a service ace. Hillarie Adams recorded five kills while graduate student Rosina Esposito collected six digs. Ashleigh Wallin led the charge with 15 assists and a service ace while Kaitlyn Brown posted 11 assists, one ace, and five digs. Graduate student Allena Carmody paced RMU with 10 digs on Thursday.

MATCH 2 vs Old Dominion • L, 3-0

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
In the opening set, Old Dominion used 12 kills and a .440 hitting percentage while taking advantage of the Colonials troubling attack to hold a 1-0 set advantage. In the second set, the Monarchs jumped out to a 4-3 lead before scoring six of the next nine points to claim a 10-6 advantage. Later in the set, after the Colonials took advantage of a service error, Old Dominion would string together a 7-3 surge to open the match, and hold a 22-12 lead. The two squads would trade the next six points as freshman Azra Eric and Esposito would register kills.

NAIL BITER
With seven ties and three lead changes, the two squads alternated shots in the third set. The Colonials came out of the gates hot, jumping out to a 5-2 lead, thanks in part to a pair of kills from Adams and a score from Stepanovich. Later in the set, RMU continued to swing well as Powers registered two kills while Kaitlyn Brown and Esposito carded points to give the Colonials an 11-7 advantage. The Monarchs would respond, netting six of the next eight points to trim the deficit, 18-17. The two teams traded the next six points before being tied at 24-24. Esposito and Adams kept the Colonials alive with two successful swings before consecutive kills from Old Dominion secured the match.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Hillarie Adams led RMU with eight kills while posting a season-best .375 hitting percentage on 16 attempts. She registered six kills alone in the third set and registered an impressive .556 attacking percentage. Rosina Esposito, Abby Powers, and Natalie Stepanovich each tallied six kills while powers collected a season-high three blocks. Kaitlyn Brown controlled the offense with 14 assists and six digs while Ashleigh Wallin totaled five assists and five digs. Freshman Katie Cook produced four assists and two digs in just her second collegiate set while Allena Carmody tallied nine digs and two assists.

UP NEXT
The Colonials conclude play at the Mountaineer Invitational on Friday, Sept. 15, when they take on the host, West Virginia at 6:00 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum.

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