MOON TOWNSHIP– The Robert Morris Colonials volleyball team is off to a tremendous start this year. They were 6-0 on the year as they headed into their matchup on Tuesday. Only 32 other teams have this type of achievement so far this year. However, their opponents were a team they have not beaten since 2007 and is one of their biggest rivals.

Duquesne came into this match having topped Robert Morris University for the past 12 years. “I had to remind my team before the game that we are playing with a chip on our shoulder and we need to get this win,” said coach Starr. The Dukes were coming into this match ready to beat the Colonials again, but there was a feeling in the air that tonight was the night that the volleyball team would end the losing streak.

The first set went smoothly for the Colonials, as they won the set 25-21. That might seem close, but it was all RMU in this set. The Colonials had the lead for the entire duration of the set. Emma Granger was a force to be reckoned with in this set. She had five aces in the first set and also had multiple blocks as well. Robert Morris is one of the top teams in the country in terms of blocks per game. However, Emma also said that, “the reason I can be great on the court is because I have a great team around me, and I could not do the things I do on the court if I did not have such a great team around me.”

It would be more of the same in the second set, but Robert Morris hit a roadblock and gave up six straight points to the Dukes. Coach Starr said, “I’m going to paraphrase, but basically I lit a fire under them and they were able to get the job done.” It was close throughout the second set but the Colonials were able to pull out the set with a four-point run to win the set 25-21. Emma Granger did the same things she did in the first set. She served up two aces and put up four blocks. Also, the Colonials finished the second set with 13 kills.

The Colonials would not look back in the third set when they were killing the ball left and right, and the Dukes could not keep up with them. Robert Morris started the set out with a 9-3 run, and they did not look back. RMU had a big lead, but they were getting a little sloppy and let the Dukes back in it. “I was not particularly happy with how we played in the third set, we should have run away with it, but we got a little sloppy and could not finish the way I wanted them to finish,” stated Coach Starr. “We did get the job done and if you would have told me that we were going to be 7-0 I would have laughed, but these women have worked their butts off and it shows and I am proud of every one of them,” Coach Starr remarked on being 7-0. Ultimately, the Colonials dominated the third set and won it 25-18. They added another 25 kills in the final set.

The Robert Morris University Colonials are now 7-0 and are ready for the next matchup against Hampton (3-2). They will clean up the silly mistakes and will work hard in practice as they will try to keep their perfect record intact. Stay tuned to rmusentrymedia.com to keep up to date with the Colonials.