Moon Township, Pa. – The Colonials opened its three-game homestand on Tuesday night, falling to Northern Kentucky in straight-sets, 3-0 at the UPMC Events Center in Horizon League action.

With the loss, the RMU volleyball team drops to 4-11 overall with a 1-3 mark in conference play. Meanwhile, the Norse improve to 7-7 this season, with a 2-1 mark in league action.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
It was an offensive struggle for both squads as neither team recorded a .200 attacking percentage for the match. In the opening stanza, the Colonials came out swinging, jumping out to an early 6-2 lead. Graduate student Rosina Esposito paced the run with three successful swings. Northern Kentucky responded by scoring five of the next six points to knot the score, 7-7. After a kill by freshman Natalie Stepanovich and a service ace by junior Jaidan Hockman, the Norse rattled off an 8-1 surge to grab a 15-10 advantage halfway through the set. RMU continued to battle as they counted with six of the next seven points to tie the score at 16-all and force a Norse timeout. Stepanovich, Esposito, and freshman Azra Eric all registered kills while Stepanovich carded a service ace. Out of the timeout, Northern Kentucky netted four consecutive points before grabbing the set, 25-21.

SECOND SET CLASH
It was a battle in the second frame as the Norse registered the opening three points before RMU mounted three consecutive scores, thanks-in-part to kills from Eric and Esposito. Later in the set, Northern Kentucky held an 8-7 advantage before scoring six of the next nine points to open its lead, 14-10. The two squads traded the next eight scores until the Colonials regained the lead by boosting a 6-1 run. Sophomore Hillarie Adams sparked the streak with a kill before Stepanovich found the floor successfully and Hockman tallied another service ace, 20-19. The Norse responded with four straight points before RMU netted three consecutive tallies to knot the score 23-23. A successful swing and an attacking error secured a 2-0 match lead for Northern Kentucky.

THIRD STANZA
There were six ties and five lead changes in the third frame as the Norse collected the match with a late rally. The two squads traded the opening 12 points of the stanza before RMU registered seven of the next 10 points to hold a 13-10 lead and force a Northern Kentucky timeout. Stepanovich paced the surge with three successful swings, while Adams, Esposito, and freshman Katie Cook all recorded points. After consecutive kills by the Norse, Stepanovich mounted a pair of kills and junior Ashleigh Walling posted a service ace to force another Northern Kentucky timeout and give RMU a 16-13 lead. The Colonials kept their foot on the gas as they tallied a 7-2 surge to give them its largest lead of the set, 23-15. The Norse responded and countered with an 11-1 run to secure the match.

QUOTABLE
"I feel we played a very solid defensive match," head coach Danny Doherty said. "They had three players with double-digit kills, but I think we slowed them down when it really mattered for most of the match. But this is a great learning experience for us to have that feeling and know what it looks like and how to not have that happen again."

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Posting her sixth double-double of the season, Natalie Stepnaovich paced the Colonials with 12 kills and 12 digs while tallying three service aces and three blocks. Stepanovich carded six of her 12 kills in the third set along, with a .400 hitting percentage. Rosina Esposito posted 11 kills, eight digs, and three blocks on the evening while Azra Eric registered three successful swings and three blocks. Ashleigh Wallin led RMU with 15 assists, eight digs, and three service aces while Katie Cook netted 13 assists, four digs, two kills, and a block. Allena Carmody led the charge on the defensive with 13 digs and three service aces while Jaidan Hockman recorded eight digs and two aces. Senior Emma Brown controlled the net for the Colonials, totaling four blocks on the night.

QUOTABLE
"It's one of those things that we just have to learn and grow from," Doherty continued. "From a defensive standpoint, we made adjustments and did things very well and were going to work on those and continue to grow from there."

UP NEXT
The Colonials continue their homestand on Friday, Sept. 29, when they welcome Milwaukee for a conference match, with the opening serve scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

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