MILWAUKEE – The RMU volleyball team dropped a five-set contest to Milwaukee on Friday night at the Klotsche Center in Wisconsin.
 
Kaitlyn Brown recorded a career-high 65 digs while Jocelyn Jourdan had another impressive match, recording 24 kills and 23 digs to help lead the Colonials. Natalie Stepanovich chipped in with 24 kills, along with 15 digs, and Jasmine Purakal rounded out the stats with a team-high 33 digs. As a team, the Colonials hit .199 while Milwaukee hit .203. Robert Morris held a 75-67 advantage in kills and a 69-66 advantage in assists. Both teams had 94 digs apiece in the match.
 
Set 1: Milwaukee 25, Robert Morris 23
 
In a tightly contested first set, Milwaukee pulled out the 25-23 set after a late push by the Colonials. A kill by Natalie Stepanovich, assisted by Kaitlyn Brown, made it 24-23 before the Panthers were able to seal the set on a kill. The first set saw nine tied scores and four lead changes.
 
Set 2: Milwaukee 25, Robert Morris 20
 
A big 6-0 run by Milwaukee in the second set helped lead the Panthers to a set two win. RMU found themselves down 19-13 before eventually battling back to 22-20 but could not overcome the deficit. In the second set, RMU hit .096 while Milwaukee hit .205
 
Set 3: Robert Morris 25, Milwaukee 23
 
RMU escaped the sweep with a 25-23 win in the third set, hitting a game-high .298. Just like in set one, the Colonials and Panthers found themselves battling back and forth as the third set featured 12 tied scores and five lead changes. After tying the score at 19-19, the Colonials maintained the lead the rest of the set with Tia Schultz getting the set-winning kill.
 
Set 4: Robert Morris 25, Milwaukee 20
 
The Colonials battled back in the fourth set to even that match up at 2-2 and send the contest to five sets.  RMU found themselves down 15-11 before racking off five straight points to make it 16-15 in favor of the Colonials. RMU extended their lead out to 24-17 before Milwaukee went on a 3-0 run to make it 24-20 before Arza Eric hammered it home to give the Colonials the set.
 
Set 5: Milwaukee 17, Robert Morris 15
 
After falling in the previous two sets, Milwaukee escaped the reverse-sweep with a 17-15 set-win over RMU. The Colonials led for most of the fifth set, having a 10-5 lead before Milwaukee came back to make it 10-8. A kill by Jocelyn Jourdan made it 15-15 before Milwaukee got back-to-back points to hold off RMU and secure the win. In the fifth set, RMU hit .139 while Milwaukee hit .156. The deciding set featured three ties and two lead changes.
 
RMU (9-17, 5-10 HL) will continue the series tomorrow against Milwaukee, with game two scheduled for 3:00 p.m. from the Klotsche Center. Live stats are available on Stat Broadcast courtesy of Milwaukee.
 
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