Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU volleyball team opened Horizon League play Tuesday at the UPMC Events Center, dropping a 3-1 decision to Wright State.

With the loss, the Colonials slipped to 3-9 overall and 0-1 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Raiders improve to 5-7 this season, with a 1-0 mark in league action.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
In the opening stanza, it was a back-and-forth affair as there were six tied scores and two lead changes. Wright State jumped out to an early 5-3 lead before scoring five of the next nine points to hold a 9-7 advantage. After a point by the Raiders, RMU responded with five consecutive points to take its first lead of the set. Graduate student Rosina Esposito tallied a pair of kills while freshman Natalie Stepanovich carded a successful swing doing the run. The two teams traded the next four points before Wright State used a 5-3 surge to knot the score, 17-17. The Raiders continued to force the issue, opening the set with a 7-2 run to hold a 24-19 advantage. The Colonials continued to battle, stringing together four straight points to trim the deficit before Wright State took the first set, 25-23.

SECOND SET STINGERS
In the second set, the Colonials used 16 kills and a late run to even the match, 1-1. RMU posted a 6-3 advantage to begin the set, thanks in part to a pair of kills from freshman Azra Eric and a point from Stepanovich. Later in the set, the Colonials continued to apply pressure as they scored six of the next eight points to hold a 14-8 lead. Five different RMU players registered a successful swing, led by Esposito, Stepanovich, Eric, senior Emma Brown, and sophomore Macy McNamara. Wright State responded with a massive 10-4 surge to tie the score at 18-18. After a point by the Raiders, the Colonials carded a 7-3 run to secure the set. Stepanovich recorded a kill before Esposito and Eric capped off the set with back-to-back successful swings, 25-22.

EXCHANGING BLOWS
It was an entertaining third set as there were eight ties and four lead changes. RMU jumped out to a 5-2 advantage, thanks to kills from Brown, Eric, Stepanovich, and a service ace from junior Ashleigh Wallin. Wright State countered with a 7-4 surge, to claim a 10-9 lead before the Colonials responded with six of the next nine points to claim a 15-13 advantage. Stepanovich started the surge with a point before Esposito and sophomore Hillarie Adams netted kills. The Raiders countered by boosting a 7-1 run to reclaim the lead before both teams treaded the next six points. Wright State would net the final two points to claim a 25-21 win and a 2-1 match advantage.

QUOTABLE
"We just have to continue to work on the good and then understand where our mistakes were in that third and fourth set and go from there," head coach Danny Doherty said. "Cleveland State and Oakland are different from Wright State and it's going to be a good battle for us on the road. But I think there are things we can pick apart with both teams and that's what we're going to work on the next couple days."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
RMU was paced by a pair of freshmen, as Azra Eric registered her best performance of the season. She carded 11 kills and an impressive .769 attacking percentage with just one error. Eric tied for the team lead with four blocks and three digs. Natalie Stepanovich posted her fourth double-double of the season with 12 digs and 10 kills while recording two assists and a service ace. Rosina Esposito finished with eight kills and tied her season-high with four blocks while Hillarie Adams and Emma Brown both posted seven kills each. Ashleigh Wallin paced the offense with her first double-double of the season with 23 assists, 10 digs and two service aces. Katie Cook registered 10 assists and three digs while Allena Carmody recorded a team-high 20 digs on Tuesday.

UP NEXT
RMU hits the road for a pair of conference matches, heading to Cleveland State on Friday, Sept. 22 before traveling to Oakland on Saturday, Sept. 23.

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