MOON TOWNSHIP– The Robert Morris volleyball team woke up early Saturday morning to take on Canisius in the opening match of the Chick-Fil-a Robinson Labor Day Classic at the UPMC Events Center. The Colonials would pick up the win to move to .500 with a three sets to one victory along with their first win on home court of the season.
The Colonials would jump out to a quick start shown on the first play of the game as Ashleigh Wallin would pick up an ace and would not look back.
“We did a great job getting out there and establishing our rhythm and our tempo,” second year head coach Danny Doherty said. “We had it there for most of the match. It’s just a primary focus of ours to just be us.”
The Colonials would easily handle the Golden Griffins though the first set taking it 25-14. Hitting the ball at a .371% rate and 17 kills.
In the second set the Colonials would carry the momentum winning the set 25-17. The offense was all in sync with another 17 kills led by graduate senior Rosina Esposito with five in the second set, adding to her team high 18 kills on the day.
Esposito wouldn’t be the only new player to make an impact as Natalie Stepanovich and Azra Eric also made their names known in the UPMC Events Center as Stepanovich would lead the Colonials with three aces and Eric would contribute with four kills and three assists on the day.
“Natalie has a lot of power and Rosina has the long time IQ with it being her fifth season,” Doherty said. “They’ve come on and been like lightning in a bottle for us, but they’re able to be so good because of what we have top to bottom.”
The Colonials would look to finish up the Golden Griffins with a three set sweep, which would be their first since North Carolina Coastal September 2022, but Canisius would be hard to put away with great play by Ella Loussia and Kara Zaucha and the Golden Griffins would take the set 25-22.
In the fourth set the Colonials would close it out with a 25-18 set victory, capitalizing on Canisius’ six attack errors.
The Colonials move to 5-1 against the Golden Griffins all-time, as well as 2-2 on the season. They will continue the Chick-Fil-A Robinson Labor Day Classic tonight against Pittsburgh rival Duquesne at 6:00pm.
