IU East finishes regular season sweep of RedStorm

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RICHMOND, Ind. - Indiana University East won the battle at the net and pulled away at the end of each set, posting a 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-18) victory over the University of Rio Grande, Tuesday night, in River States Conference women's volleyball action at Lingle Court.
     The Red Wolves improved to 14-6 overall and 7-1 in league play with the win, while completing a regular season sweep of the RedStorm in the process.
     The loss left Rio Grande at 11-7 overall and 5-4 in the RSC.
     The RedStorm hit just .024 for the match with 28 kills and 25 errors in 125 total swings.
     Defensively, Rio had just four block assists as a team.
     IU East finished with 43 kills and 17 errors in 127 attacks for a .205 swing percentage.
     The Red Wolves also had one solo block and 12 block assists.
     Rio Grande actually held a 20-17 advantage in the opening set after an attack error by IUE's Jessica Swimm, but the hosts scored eight of the final nine points to grab the early match lead.
     The RedStorm were within striking distance late in set two, trailing 17-14 following a kill by freshman Kelli Stewart (Waverly, OH), but the Red Wolves again finished strong by recording eight of the final 10 winners to secure set two.
     Rio was also down just 18-16 in set three on the heels of a kill by senior Amanda Rarick (Canal Winchester, OH), but IU East closed things out once and for all with a match-ending 7-2 run capped by consecutive kills by Brooke Lepper and Teah Barrett Matthews.
     Swimm had a match-high 17 kills in the winning effort, while Reece Shirley tallied a team-high 32 assists and 20 digs.
     Ella Bickel had 18 digs of her own for the Red Wolves, while Loretta Pelkington had a solo block and four block assists. Lepper also had four block assists.
     Stewart had eight kills to pace Rio Grande in the loss, while junior Avery Huntzinger (Canal Winchester, OH) recorded 17 assists.
     Junior Ashton Webb (Gallipolis, OH) led the RedStorm defense with 20 digs and Rarick added a pair of block assists.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Friday night when it heads back to the Hoosier State for a first-ever meeting with RSC newcomer Indiana University-Purdue University-Columbus.
     First serve is set for 7 p.m.