Rio Grande --- The University of Rio Grande RedStorm volleyball team picked up their first win of the 2010 season in the first match of the second day of action at the Aces in August Classic held inside the Newt Oliver Arena on Saturday. Rio rallied from two games down to win the opener in five over Mid-South Conference foe University of the Cumberlands, 23-25, 23-25, 25-14, 25-18 and 15-13. Rio lost the second match of the day to finish third in the classic. Martin Methodist knocked off Rio for the second time in consecutive days, 25-17, 25-9, 19-25 and 25-22.

Rio Grande (1-4, 1-0 MSC) dug a hole in the first match, but was able to keep after it and come away with a thrilling, hard-fought victory. Sophomore middle hitter Erin Sherman (South Webster, OH) led the way with 15 kills and had two solo blocks and four block assists in the win. Sophomore outside hitter Whitney Smith (Albany, OH) added 13 kills and recorded nine digs. Freshman Cindy Willis (Athens, OH) came in and played well for the RedStorm, contributing 11 kills and seven digs to go along with 9-for-9 serving. 

Freshman libero Nicole Ogg (Albany, OH) led the defense with 14 digs and went 19-for-20 serving. Senior setter Ashley Bloom (Worthington, OH) notched 30 assists and registered nine digs while freshman Kayla Landaker (Coshocton, OH) handed out 22 assists. Both Bloom and Landaker had two serve aces each. 

Other contributions came from junior middle hitter Kati Moore (Lancaster, OH), seven kills and three block assists and senior outside hitter Rachel Walker (Ironton, OH), six kills, two solo blocks and six block assists. 

Cumberlands falls to 0-4 and 0-1 in MSC play.

In match two, Rio again fell behind two games to none, before responding with a third set victory and then dropping a tight contest in the fourth set to lose the match to Martin Methodist (3-2). 

Sherman again topped the kill chart for the RedStorm with nine while Smith, Kati Moore and sophomore outside hitter Tresa Swatzel (Shade, OH) all added six kills each. 

Ogg was the leader in digs with seven, while going 15-for-15 serving with a pair of aces and Sherman posted three solo blocks and three block assists. 

Bloom dished out 16 assists and served four aces in the match while Landaker added seven assists and went 11-for-11 serving with one ace. Freshman setter Kelsey Martin (Jackson, OH) was also perfect in the serving department, going 10-for-10. 

Rio Grande head coach Billina Donaldson knows that right now her team is wildly inconsistent. "I know one thing for sure right now and that's we're inconsistent," she said. "I just never know which team is going to show up."

"I will say that Cindy Willis played solid for us," Donaldson added. "She was key in our win against Cumberlands. She came in after not playing and got a lot of kills for us." 

Rio Grande had three players make the all-tournament team, Willis, Smith and Landaker. Allison Nicely from Indiana University East, Megan Schulte from Cumberlands, Precious Sanders and Ann-Kathrin Kuehhorn of Martin Methodist were also named to the squad.

Indiana University East (10-0) won the tournament, knocking off Martin Methodist in the deciding match. 

Rio Grande will go on the road for the first time on Thursday (September 2) when they visit Mountain State. The match will begin at 7 p.m.