Moon Township, Pa. – It was a battle of runs with 20 ties and seven lead changes but the RMU volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Milwaukee on Friday evening at the UPMC Events Center in league action.

With the slip, the Colonials fall to 4-12 this season with a 1-4 mark in Horizon League action. Meanwhile, the Panthers improve to 11-6 overall behind a 3-0 record in conference play.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
There were nine ties and five lead changes in the opening frame as each team carded 12 kills before Milwaukee secured a 25-15 win. The two squads traded the opening six points before RMU mounted a 4-1 surge to claim a 7-4 lead. Freshman Azra Eric and graduate student Rosina Esposito each tallied successful swings. The Panthers responded with a 9-6 run to knot the score at 13-all midway through the opening stanza. Milwaukee kept its foot on the gas as it netted seven of the next eight points before securing a 5-1 run to claim the opening set.

SECOND SET ASSASSINS
The second frame has been generous to the Colonials all season long as they evened the match with a 27-25 victory. RMU opened the set with a 7-3 surge, led by senior Emma Brown, who posted a pair of kills and two blocks during the run. Freshman Natalie Stepanovich tallied a kill and a service ace while sophomore Hillarie Adams netted a successful swing and Esposito collected a pair of blocks. The Panthers would respond by scoring seven of the next nine points, grabbing their first lead of the stanza, 10-9. Tied at 16-16, the Colonials put together a 6-4 run to secure a 22-19 advantage. Adams and Stepanovich each registered a point while sophomore Kaitlyn Brown collected a service ace. Milwaukee continued to respond, tying the set at 23-all before the Colonials registered four of the final six points to secure the frame. Emma Brown started the run by finding the floor successfully before Esposito posted back-to-back points for the set win.

THREE/FOUR
Milwaukee used an impressive .382 attacking percentage while tallying 17 kills to earn a set three victory and a 2-1 match advantage. In the fourth frame, both squads struggled offensively as they traded the opening 10 points of the set. Milwaukee broke open the frame by boosting a 6-1 surge to claim an 11-6 lead. After an RMU timeout, the Colonials rallied and trimmed the deficit by scoring four of the next six points, thanks to a pair of kills from Adams and Esposito, 13-10. The Panthers continued to respond as they collected six of the next nine points before using a 6-4 run to claim the match.

QUOTABLE
"There was good, there was bad, and we kind of felt all the emotions during this match," head coach Danny Doherty said. "We went through sways and I feel this match was really dictated on runs. They had runs, we had runs, but unfortunately there's came in bigger spurts throughout. The team was confident but there were some really good things that happened today and some really bad things and we just have to correct that."  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Colonials were led by Stepnaovich, who posted her seventh dig/kill double-double of the season. She finished with a team-high 12 kills while collecting 11 digs, two blocks and an ace. Adams posted nine kills and three digs while Esposito carded seven successful swings, four digs, two blocks, and a service ace. Emma Brown ended the evening with seven kills and a team-best .368 hitting percentage while totaling three blocks. Wallin registered her third double-double of the season with 17 assists and 10 digs while Kaitlyn Brown recorded 12 assists and six digs. Allena Carmody ended with a team-high 15 digs and Tatum Otolski collected three blocks.

QUOTABLE
"The mentality that we play is one game at a time, one set at a time, one point at a time and we'll make some quick adjustments and be prepared for a tough opponent in Green Bay," Doherty continued. "We have a pretty good game plan that we believe in and we're going to roll it out for them and see what we're going to be attacking."

UP NEXT
RMU wraps up its homestand tomorrow when it welcomes Green Bay for a Horizon League contest, scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. at the UPMC Events Center.

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