Rio women finish golden, drop Bears

Rio Grande Sports Information
     BECKLEY, W.Va. - Averie Bruce totaled a career-best 11 kills and the University of Rio Grande rolled in the latter stages of sets three and four for a 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-22, 25-15) triumph over West Virginia University-Tech, Saturday afternoon, in River States Conference women's volleyball play at Van Meter Gym.
     The RedStorm extended their win streak to nine straight, improving to 9-3 overall and 3-0 in league play.
     WVU-Tech dropped to 6-9 overall and 2-1 in the RSC with the loss.
     After the teams divided the first two sets, Rio Grande scored the final six points of set three to erase a 22-19 deficit and grab the match lead.
     The RedStorm sealed the victory by scoring the final four points and nine of the final 13 winners in the contest.
     Rio Grande recorded the win despite hitting just .128 for the match as a result of 55 kills and 35 errors - 14 of which came in its lone set loss - over 156 swings.
     Bruce, a freshman from Baltimore, Ohio, led the way at the net for the RedStorm with her 11 kills and only four errors in 26 attacks.
     Juniors Avery Huntzinger (Canal Winchester, OH) and Sofia Otero Marrero (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) had 23 and 16 assists, respectively, in the winning effort, while junior Ashton Webb (Gallipolis, OH) had 19 digs and two service aces and sophomore Kayla Sedgwick (Richwood, OH) tallied 11 digs of her own.
     Senior Shalea Byrd (Canal Winchester, OH) had five solo blocks and a block assist for the Rio defense.
     WVU-Tech hit just .073 as a team, finishing with 39 kills and 28 errors in 151 swings.
     Madison Boswell tied for match-high honors by tallying 11 kills for the Golden Bears, while Julia McClanahan had 27 assists, three solo blocks and two block assists.
     Ana Muniz Rocandio and Brooke Presley finished with 20 and 13 digs, respectively, in a losing cause and Nevaeh Wooding tallied four solo blocks and two block assists.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Tuesday night when it hosts Point Park University for another RSC contest at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     First serve is set for 7 p.m.