Rio rallies late to take down Knights

Rio Grande Sports Information
     GRAYSON, Ky. - When hosting River States Conference newcomer Kentucky Christian University as part of the Emileigh Jo Cooper Memorial Classic last month, the University of Rio Grande dispatched the Knights with relatively ease in straight sets.
     However, Friday night's rematch - one of two meetings that will count toward the conference standings - proved to be anything but easy.
     The RedStorm rallied from a 2-1 match deficit to upend their host, 21-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-16, 15-11 in women's volleyball action at the Lusby Center.
     Rio Grande, which won for a fifth straight time, improved to 12-6 overall and 3-0 in league play.
     KCU slipped to 6-6 overall and 0-1 in the RSC.
     After finding themselves on the brink of being upset, the RedStorm committed consecutive errors to knot the score at 13-all in set four.
     But a subsequent service error by the Knights kickstarted a stretch of 10 straight Rio points, allowing the RedStorm to take the set and force a winner-take-all fifth stanza.
     Rio Grande never trailed in the final period, racing to a 10-4 advantage out of the gate.
     KCU reeled off four straight winners to get within 10-8, but failed to get any closer the rest of the way.
     Rio Grande registered a .110 attack percentage for the match with 50 kills and 32 errors in 163 swings. The 32 errors represented the RedStorm's second-highest total of the season, surpassed only by their 38 miscues in a five-set loss to Rochester Christian (Mich.) on Aug. 22.
     Junior Averie Bruce (Baltimore, OH) led Rio with 15 kills, in addition to two solo blocks and nine block assists defensively.
     Senior Elle McLoughlin (Zanesville, OH) and sophomore Lydia Steyer (Perrysburg, OH) had 23 and 21 assists, respectively, in the winning effort. Steyer also had three of her team's 10 service aces, while McLoughlin had a solo block and five block assists of her own.
     Junior Jenna Harrison (Gallipolis, OH) had 16 digs, while fellow junior Nigella Reck (Covington, OH) and redshirt freshman Taylor Bartrum (Cherry Hill, KY) tallied 14 digs each and freshman Gracie Perkins (Wheelersburg, OH) had two solo blocks and three block assists.
     Kentucky Christian made its upset bid despite having only one more kill (39) than it did attack errors (38) over the course of 166 swings (.006).
     Lydia Ward led the Knights with 15 kills, while Mary Ansley Herrington totaled 21 assists and Danika Street was credited with 14 digs.
     Ward, Grace Lewis and Adrionna Vogedes all had 10 digs each in the loss, while Lewis added six service aces, Elizabeth Rigsby had two solo blocks and a block assist and Amber Nelson finished with one solo block and a trio of block assists.
     Rio Grande's busy weekend of action continues on Saturday at rival Shawnee State University.
     The RedStorm will face the Bears in another RSC tilt at 1 p.m. before squaring off with Cumberland (Tenn.) University in a non-conference affair at 3 p.m.