MATCHES 16-17_­

Milwaukee (10-6, 2-0 #HLVB) at RMU (4-11, 1-3 #HLVB)
Friday, September 29 • 6:00 p.m.
UPMC Events Center • Moon Township, Pa.
 
Green Bay (4-10, 2-0 #HLVB) at RMU (4-11, 1-3 #HLVB)
Saturday, September 29 • 4:00 p.m.
UPMC Events Center • Moon Township, Pa.
 
Can You Dig It?
- The RMU volleyball team concludes its homestand this weekend, when it hosts Milwaukee on Friday, Sept. 29 before welcoming Green Bay on Saturday, Sept. 30, at the UPMC Events Center.

- The Colonials opened its three-game homestand on Tuesday night when it dropped a 3-0 decision to Northern Kentucky.

- 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.

- RMU continued to battle as they countered 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.

- 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.

- RMU hits the road after the conclusion of their homestand with a pair of matches in Indiana. The Colonials will battle IUPUI on Friday, Oct. 6 before squaring off with Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday, Oct. 7.

MILWAUKEE/GREEN BAY LINKS
Live Stats vs. Milwaukee
Video vs. Milwaukee
Live Stats vs. Green Bay
Video vs Green Bay
RMU Athletics Gameday App
 
The All-Time Series (Milwaukee) – It will be the sixth all-time meeting when the Colonials and Panthers take the floor on Friday evening. Miwaukee holds a 5-0 mark against RMU after taking the two matches a season ago. In the first meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Panthers secured a 3-0 victory while Ally Christman posted 10 digs, six kills, and an assist. Emma Brown registered five kills and four blocks while Abby Ryan recorded four kills and seven digs against the Panthers. Ashleigh Wallin paced the team with 16 assists and three aces and Kaitlyn Brown tallied 12 assists and a pair of kills. Allena Carmody posted a team-high 14 digs. In the second meeting in Moon Township, Ryan earned another double-double with 12 digs and 11 kills. Christman served five aces, and Kaitlyn Brown added another 29 assists. Since becoming the main setter for the team six games ago, she's averaged 25.83 assists per game.

The All-Time Series (Green Bay) – Come Saturday, it'll be the seventh meeting in the series when RMU and Green Bay battle at the UPMC Events Center. The Phoenix hold a 5-1 record against the Colonials while securing a pair of victories last season. Christman led the Colonials with 10 kills and a .318 hitting percentage while also finishing with seven digs. Fifth-year Alyssa Hudak (2018-22) contributed five kills, while Carmody continued her march toward 1,000 career digs, racking up 16 against Green Bay. In the meeting in Moon Township, Abby Ryan put up 15 kills along with seven digs and Ally Christman earned eight kills. Kaitlyn Brown assisted 29 times in back to back games.

Inside The Conference - After the first couple weeks of conference play, a handful of Colonials continue to jump spots in the league statistics. Freshman Natalie Stepanovich paces the Colonials and ranks fifth in the conference in kills (174) and kills per set (3.22). She currently ranks fourth in service aces (24) while registering at least one in seven consecutive matches. Ashleigh Wallin paces RMU with 26 service aces, which is good for the top spot in the league. She has posted two or more aces in four of the last five games while sitting seventh in assists per set (5.57). Allena Carmody continues to lead the defense as she ranks seventh in the Horizon League in digs per set (4.15) and eighth in total digs (224). Carmody has tallied 10 or more digs in all but two contests while collecting 77 total digs in the first three conference matches.

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