MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa.— The Long Island University volleyball team had it's four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday evening with a 3-0 setback to Robert Morris on the road. In a battle of the top two teams in the Northeast Conference standings, the Colonials (16-3, 6-0 NEC) bested the Sharks (5-12, 4-1 NEC) 25-22, 25-17, 25-21 at the UMPC Events Center.

LIU was led offensively by a match high 16 kills from freshman Karolina Nova. Senior Kora Schaberl tallied 15 kills for the Sharks and added eight digs defensively. Senior Amanda Hubbard dished out 33 assists and sophomore Anastasia Scott tallied a team-high 16 digs.

The two teams knotted atop the league standings opened the match with back-and-forth action. A three-point run by the Sharks on kills from Schaberl and junior Masa Zirojevic to jump ahead 7-4. LIU continued to hold the slight lead before the Colonials embarked on a 5-1 stretch to take a 6-2 run to take a 14-13 lead. The Sharks then reclaimed the lead with a four-point swing on a pair of kills, a service ace from Scott and a block assist from Zirojevic and freshman Miranda Strongman to go up 17-14 and force a RMU timeout. The Colonials responded out of the break with a 7-2 run to retake the lead 21-19. A kill from Nova later cut the deficit to one at 22-21 but RMU closed out the set on a kill to take the opening set 25-22.

The second set started just like the first with both teams trading points. LIU used a 6-1 run led by three kills from Nova to create some separation for a 10-6 advantage. RMU slowly chipped away at the deficit before a 5-1 stretch tied things up at 12-12. The Sharks picked up back-to-back points from there as a kill from junior Jovana Stekovic brought the score to 14-12. The Colonials offense responded with a 9-1 run to gain control of the set at 21-16. RMU continued to hold the advantage earning a 25-17 second set decision.

Momentum carried over for the Colonials to start the third set with an 11-6 lead to start. LIU cut into the RMU lead as the set wore on, eventually using a three-point swing on a pair of kills from Schaberl to cut the deficit to two at 13-11. The Colonials responded with a four-point run to take a 17-11 advantage. The Sharks continued to fight back using a 6-2 stretch to cut the deficit to two at 19-17. RMU grabbed five of the next seven points to get to within set point. LIU took back-to-back points to cut the deficit to three but one final kill from the Colonials sealed the set 25-21 and the match.

UP NEXT

The Sharks return to the Steinberg Wellness Center to host three matches next week. First up for LIU is a midweek matchup against rival, St. Francis Brooklyn on Wednesday, October 16. The match is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m.