Cougars cruise sweep of RedStorm

Rio Grande Sports Information
     KOKOMO, Ind. - Indiana University Kokomo got off to a quick start in set one and used extended scoring spurts in each of the next two periods to fuel a sweep of the University of Rio Grande, Friday night, in River States Conference women's volleyball action at the Student Activities and Events Center.
     The host Cougars improved to 22-5 overall and 11-1 in league play with a 25-23, 25-19, 25-10 triumph.
     The RedStorm dropped to 13-9 overall and 7-4 inside the RSC with the loss.
     IUK scored the first five points of the night and never trailed in set one, although Rio reeled off three consecutive winners late to pull within 24-23 before an attack error allowed the host to take an early match lead.
     The RedStorm enjoyed a 10-5 advantage in set two before the Cougars grabbed the lead for good with a 10-0 run that included three kills by Lorelei Porter.
     Rio trailed just 6-5 in the third stanza after a kill by senior Jess Youse (Pettisville, OH), but IUK scored 14 of the next 17 points to blow things open and seal its ninth straight win against the RedStorm and its 11th victory in 13 all-time meetings.
     Porter had nine kills, eight service aces and three block assists to lead the winning effort, while Sidney Gerig had nine kills of her own and Alyvia Smith finished with 10 digs.
     Kaley Lyons and Allison Richman tallied 16 assists each for the Cougars and Audrey Strawsma had five block assists.
     IUK finished with a .270 attack percentage (39 kills and 15 errors in 89 swings).
     Junior Amanda Rarick (Canal Winchester, OH) led Rio Grande with a match-high 12 kills, while Youse had 10 kills and sophomore Avery Huntzinger (Canal Winchester, OH) finished with 30 assists.
     Junior Darcie Walters (Sparta, OH) had a match-best 13 digs in the loss, while fellow junior Shalea Byrd (Canal Winchester, OH) tallied three block assists.
     Rio Grande finished with 33 kills and 23 attack errors in 95 swings (.105).
     Rio concludes its weekend road swing on Saturday at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College.