Robert Morris University Volleyball Team Suffers First Conference Setback
Veith hits .647, Catucci records carrer-high 30 assists
Hamden, Conn. – October 9, 2010 – The Robert Morris University volleyball team suffered its first setback in conference play this season as Quinnipiac handed the Colonials a 3-1 defeat Saturday afternoon at Burt Kahn Court.
With the loss, RMU falls to 4-1 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play and sits alone in second place in the league standings.
Junior Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) continued her stellar play on the offensive end as she collected 11 kills on just 17 attempts without committing an error to hit a match-high .647. Veith has now hit at least .500 in three straight matches, has hit at least .420 in every conference match and extended her streak of hitting at least .350 to nine consecutive matches. In three of her last five matches, Veith has not made a single error, and she now has collected double-figure kills in each of the last four matches.
Senior captain Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie) recorded her first career double-double on the strength of a team-high 13 kills and a career-high 10 digs. Graham and Veith both added four blocks while sophomore opposite Amanda Craig (Houston, Texas / St. Agnes Academy) contributed a match-high and season-high five as the Colonials once again outblocked their opponent. RMU recorded 11 blocks to Quinnipiac’s 4, and Robert Morris still has only been outblocked once this season.
Robert Morris held the lead midway through the first game and still held a four-point edge, 14-10, after Graham and Craig combined on a block. The Bobcats suddenly caught fire, winning 11 consecutive points, to turn around the game and take a seven-point lead. Robert Morris cut the deficit to five on a few occasions but was able to get no closer as Quinnipiac took the opener, 25-19.
Quinnipiac took over after a relatively even start to the second game as the Bobcats used a 7-0 run to turn a two-point edge, 9-7, into a nine-point cushion. The Bobcats kept the pressure on, winning six straight points to turn a 17-9 game into a 14-point advantage. Quinnipiac finished off game two by holding the same margin.
The Colonials fell behind in game three and were in danger of getting swept, but RMU battled back to extend the match. With Quinnipiac holding a 12-10 edge, Robert Morris went on a 6-1 run as Craig picked up two kills and Veith added a kill and a block over the seven-point stretch. After the Bobcats cut the lead to just one, 18-17, RMU won the final seven points to win the game as senior Jaye Hellmich (Costa Mesa, Calif. / Estancia) tallied a kill and two blocks, including one solo rejection, during the run. RMU hit an impressive .464 as a team in game three.
The Bobcats took the lead early on in the fourth game and extended their margin to six, 16-10, past the midway mark. Robert Morris fought its way back into the game, taking five of the next six points to cut the Bobcat lead to just two points. Quinnipiac responded by taking three points in a row to push its edge to five and led by at least four the rest of the way in closing out the match.
Sophomore setter Andrea Catucci (Davidsonville, Md. / Archbishop Spalding) recorded a career high in assists for the second straight match as she set up 30 kills on the afternoon for Robert Morris.
Senior captain Charla Drabant (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton North) led RMU with a team-high 15 digs, marking the second consecutive match in which she has reached that number. It was also the second match in a row in which the Colonials had three players reach double figures in digs as sophomore Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) joined Graham and Drabant with at least 10 digs.
The Colonials have a very short layoff as they will be back in action Sunday against the NEC’s best. Robert Morris will face first-place Sacred Heart, who is 5-0 in the NEC, at 1:00 p.m. Sunday.
