Mighty Oaks outlast Rio in five sets

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - A disappointing start by the University of Rio Grande percipitated a furious comeback effort.
     Unfortunately, it was a rally that the RedStorm couldn't see through to the end.
     Oakland City University coughed up an early two-set advantage, but shut down Rio's hopes of a dramatic win by never trailing in the fifth and deciding stanza and posting a 25-23, 25-23, 19-25, 17-25, 15-9 triumph, Saturday afternoon, in River States Conference women's volleyball action at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     The Mighty Oaks, who are coached by Rio Grande grad Allyson Moorman, improved to 7-7 overall and 5-3 against RSC foes with the victory.
     The RedStorm dropped to 11-6 overall and 5-3 in league play with the loss.
     Oakland City erased a 16-12 deficit in the opening set with a 8-1 scoring spurt, but watched as Rio regained 23-22 advantage after an attack error by OCU's Lisa Scapini.
     The Mighty Oaks rebounded, though, scoring the final three points of the period on kills by De'sheonna Foster, Chloee Yhomas and Scapini to take the early match lead.
     OCU never led in set two until consecutive kills by Laura Betsa and a kill by Foster made it 18-17.
     After ties at 18 and 20, Oakland City scored four consecutive winners to move within a point of winning the set before Rio reeled off three straight points to close the gap to 24-23.
     The Mighty Oaks bounced back again, though, and grabbed their 2-0 lead thanks to a kill by Thomas to close out the period.
     Rio Grande kept the match alive by never trailing in set three and used a 12-2 run in set four to erase a 15-13 deficit and force the deciding stanza.
     The RedStorm managed to forge a 4-4 tie early in set five and, after the Mighty Oaks quickly regained the lead, Rio closed the gap to one at 6-5 and 10-9, but OCU tallied the final five winners - all on kills by Thomas - to seal the match win.
     Thomas led a quartet of double-digit kill performances for Oakland City with 18. Foster added 14, Scapini had 11 and Betsa finished with 10.
     Marianna Anastasiadi had 46 assists in the winning effort, while Dunja Madjarevic was credited with 24 digs. Foster also had two solo blocks and four block assists and Anastasiadi had four block assists.
     Freshman Kelli Stewart (Waverly, OH) established a new career-high in kills for the second straight contest, leading Rio Grande with 17. Junior Jordan Brooks (Reynoldsburg, OH) and senior Amanda Rarick (Canal Winchester, OH) added 13 and 12 kills, respectively.
     Juniors Avery Huntzinger (Canal Winchester, OH) and Sofia Otero Marrero (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) had 27 and 21 assists, respectively, in a losing cause, while Huntzinger also had three service aces.
     Junior Ashton Webb (Gallipois, OH) had 15 digs for the RedStorm, while sophomore Kayla Sedgwick (Richwood, OH) had 14 of her own. Sophomore Jillian Gardner (Maryville, OH) was credited with four block assists.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Tuesday night when it opens a four-game, two-week conference road swing at Indiana University East.
     First serve is set for 7 p.m.