RedStorm rolls to sweep of Shawnee State

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - More often than not, when the University of Rio Grande and Shawnee State University get together on the volleyball court, whomever emerges victorious does so after being involved in a dogfight.
     Such was not the case as the RedStorm and the Bears renewed their rivalry on Friday night.
     Rio Grande didn't lead from start to finish, but the RedStorm did control things from the outset in a 25-18, 25-18, 25-19 River States Conference victory at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Head coach Billina Donaldson's squad improved to 23-8 overall and 11-2 in the RSC with the win.
     Shawnee State slipped to 14-10 overall and 7-5 against league foes as a result of the loss.
     Rio Grande's only deficit in the opening set came at 6-5, while the RedStorm scored 10 of the final 13 points to pull away in set two and seven of the final nine winners in the third stanza to close out the night once and for all.
     Rio finished with a .283 swing percentage as a team with 48 kills and 18 errors in 106 total attacks.
     Freshman Katelynn Coey (Glouster, OH) had 13 kills to pace the winning effort, while senior Amanda Rarick (Canal Winchester, OH) added 10 of her own.
     Junior Elle McLoughlin (Zanesville, OH) had 40 assists for the RedStorm, while junior Kayla Sedgwick (Richwood, OH) had 12 digs and sophomore McKenna Diederich (Pickerington, OH) finished with a trio of block assists.
     Senior Avery Huntzinger (Canal Winchester, OH) recorded three of Rio's seven service aces in the win.
     Shawnee State never had an attack percentage of higher than .120 in any set and finished the night with a .103 mark (26 kills, 17 errors, 87 swings).
     Haidyn Wamsley topped the Bears with eight kills, while Makaela Lovely had 22 assists and a pair of service aces and Megan Steele totaled 11 digs.
     Kylee Gifford had four block assists in the loss.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Alice Lloyd College and Georgetown College in a Senior Day tri-match.
     The day begins with Rio and Alice Lloyd meeting in a junior varsity contest at 11 a.m., while the RedStorm and the Eagles will follow with an RSC varsity tilt at 1 p.m.
     ALC and Georgetown will follow at 3 p.m. before Rio Grande faces the Tigers in the final match of the day at 5 p.m.
     Five varsity players, two junior varsity players and a student coach will be honored prior to the start of the 1 p.m. match.