Cougars stop Rio, stay perfect in RSC play

Rio Grande Sports Information
     KOKOMO, Ind. - The queen is the queen until somebody takes her crown.
     On Friday night, the University of Rio Grande made a go at removing River States Conference women's volleyball royalty from the throne.
     But, like the previous 11 league members who took their best shot, the RedStorm's attempt at staging a coup failed to materialize.
     Indiana University Kokomo rallied late after trailing for the bulk of set three and then held off a late charge in set four by head coach Billina Donaldson's club for a 25-13, 16-25, 25-20, 25-22 victory in the RSC Match of the Week at the Student Activities & Events Center.
     The host Cougars, who are ranked 11th nationally and who have won either the RSC's regular season or tournament title - or both - for each of the last seven seasons, improved to 24-4 overall and 11-0 in conference play with an 18th consecutive win.
     The triumph also gave IUK a two-game lead for the top spot in the RSC standings after Rio Grande slipped to 21-8 overall and 9-2 in league play.
     After evening the match score with a second set win, the RedStorm enjoyed a 17-13 advantage in the third stanza after a kill by senior Amanda Rarick (Canal Winchester, OH).
     The Cougars countered, though, by scoring 12 of the final 15 points in the set - capped by an Allison Richman kill - to regain the match advantage.
     Rio Grande never led in set four, but certainly made Kokomo earn its victory by twice slicing a late six-point deficit down to one, including 23-22 following a kill by junior Olivia Smith (Bainbridge, OH).
     The Cougars put the rally - and the match - to rest, though, with a Rio service error and a Lexi Broyles kill for the final two points of the night.
     Broyles led the home team with 15 kills, while Richman and Kaley Lyons had 18 assists each. Lyons also had three service aces.
     Ellie Garland and Julia Sanders had 12 and 10 digs, respectively, for IUK, while Mya Grigsby had two solo blocks and a block assist.
     The Cougars had 45 kills and 20 errors over 127 attacks for a .197 swing percentage.
     Rio Grande had 49 kills and 29 errors in 141 attacks for a .142 swing percentage.
     Rarick had 21 kills, 13 digs and a trio of block assists in a losing cause, while sophomore Kelli Stewart (Waverly, OH) had 12 kills of her own and junior Elle McLoughlin (Zanesville, OH) had 43 assists and three block assists of her own.
     Junior Kayla Sedgwick (Richwood, OH) had 16 digs for the RedStorm, while sophomore Averie Bruce (Baltimore, OH) tallied three solo blocks and seven block assists.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Saturday with a visit to St. Mary-of-the-Woods College.
     First serve is set for noon.