Moon Township, Pa. – The Colonials closed out its three-match homestand at the UPMC Events Center, dropping a 3-1 decision to Green Bay on Saturday in league play.

With the loss, the RMU volleyball team dips to 4-13 this season with a 1-5 mark in conference action. Meanwhile, the Phoenix improve to 6-10 overall while collecting a perfect 4-0 in Horizon League play.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
In the opening stanza, Green Bay posted a .329 attacking percentage along with 19 kills and a late 4-1 rally to secure the opening frame, 25-22. It was a different story in the second set, as RMU used 17 successful swings and three service aces to even the match. The two squads traded the opening 10 points of the set before the Colonials mounted a 6-2 run to claim an 11-6 advantage. Three different players registered a kill for RMU while freshman Azra Eric collected a service ace.

After a Phoenix timeout, the Colonials continued to apply pressure, boosting six of the next nine points to hold a 17-10 lead. Sophomore Hillarie Adams paced the surge with a pair of kills while senior Emma Brown and graduate student Rosina Esposito each tallied a point. RMU extended its lead to 22-16 before freshmen Katie Cook and Natalie Stepanovich posted kills, while Brown secured the set with a kill, 25-18.

THREE TO THE FOUR
The Phoenix would rally by using 15 kills and taking advantage of a sluggish attack by the Colonials to grab a 2-1 match advantage, with a 25-20 set three win. It was a game of runs in the fourth frame as there were nine ties and three lead changes. Green Bay jumped out to an early 4-1 lead before RMU rattled off four straight scores to grab a 5-4 advantage. Knotted at 7-7, the Colonials rallied by scoring six of the next 10 points, thanks in part to a pair of kills from Adams and successful swings from Brown and Esposito. The two teams traded the next six points before the Phoenix used a 6-4 surge to keep it at 20-20. After an RMU timeout, Green Bay posted a 5-1 run, with Tiffany Paalman and Emma Best leading the charge with two kills each, to secure the match, 25-21.

QUOTABLE
"They have a lot of people that are capable of taking big swings in big moments and we gave them those opportunities," head coach Danny Doherty said. "It was kind of like yesterday's match, there were a lot of runs that were created on us and it stemmed to a couple different places."

TRIO OF HITTAS
Three Colonials ended the evening with double-digit kills, led by Natalie Stepanovich. For the third consecutive match, she's posted a kill/dig double-double, finishing with 16 successful swings and 11 digs. Stepanovich paces the squad with eight double-doubles this season while carding double figure kills in 12 matches. Hillarie Adams recorded 11 kills and two digs while recording five kills and a .444 hitting percentage in the second set alone. Adams has finished with double-digit kills in four of the last seven matches. Rosina Esposito ended the evening with her first double-double of the season, tallying 11 kills and 10 digs. Esposito registered five kills alone in the opening stanza to pace the Colonials.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Emma Brown posted nine kills and a season-best .471 attacking percentage while Azra Eric finished with five kills, six digs, and block. Ashleigh Wallin recorded 26 assists, nine digs, and a service ace while Katie Cook rallied with a season-high 21 assists. Graduate student Allena Carmody finished with a team-best 23 digs, two assists, and two aces while Jaidan Hockman tallied a career-high 10 digs against Green Bay

UP NEXT
RMU hits the road when it travels to Indianapolis for a pair of conference matches. The Colonials square off with IUPUI on Friday, Oct. 6 before battling Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday, Oct. 7.  

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