William & Mary hold off late Robert Morris comeback attempt
Junior Annie Monaco spikes the ball over the net in the first of two games for the Colonials Friday afternoon.
September 2, 2022
MOON TOWNSHIP– After dropping two of their first three matches to begin the year. Robert Morris (1-3) was looking to bounce back as they begin the Chick-fil-A Robinson Labor Day Classic. They opened their first home match of the year against the William and Mary Tribe (1-3) but fell three sets to one.
Head coach Danny Doherty spoke about some positives that could be taken away from the match.
“There is a lot of good that came out of today. When we were on, we were on, and when we were off, you saw we were off. Now we got to figure out how to put it all together.”
The first set was a back-and-forth affair as both teams were looking to gain control of the game. The Colonials were given a big boost from Annie Monaco and Abby Powers. In the end, serving got the best of the Colonials as William and Mary had three service aces to the Colonials zero and took the first set 25-21.
Taylor Burrell was significant for the Tribe as she got four kills in the first set alone.
Set two looked to favor the Tribe, but the Colonials would not go away. Abby Ryan and Abby Powers helped keep the team afloat in the set as the team stormed back and won the set 25-21.
The third set saw the Tribe go on a huge run, as they began leading 11-2. It was more of the same Nicole Smith helped Tribe with five kills, and they extended their lead to 20-7. It didn’t get much better as the Tribe won in the set 25-11.
The fourth set saw the Tribe jump to a 6-2 lead. Their team play worked very well for them all day. They continued to build on the lead, making it 11-7. After a 13-7 timeout, the Colonials went a run to tie it up. The Colonials were up as late as 21-19, but a 5-1 W&M run sealed the deal with a 25-22 win.
Doherty spoke about why the team feels loose this year.
“To enjoy the sport, you have to play as a team. You have to be happy to be a part of the team. We did a good job of doing that this year.
The Colonials will be back in action at the UPMC Events Center later this evening as they continue the Chick-Fil-A Robinson Labor Day Classic in a game against Canisius at 6 p.m.
