Rio wallops Wilberforce in straight sets

Rio Grande Sports Information
     WILBERFORCE, Ohio - With a struggling Wilberforce University squad providing the opposition, University of Rio Grande head coach Billina Cooper Donaldson was hoping to give her regular starters the night off.
     And when all was said and done, her plan was executed to perfection - to the tune of a match which took just 58 minutes to complete.
     The RedStorm hit .320 or better in sets one and three and cruised to a 25-12, 25-18, 25-14 win in non-conference women's volleyball action, Monday night, at the Gaston Lewis Arena.
     Rio Grande improved to 15-6 with an eight consecutive triumph. It was also the 302nd victory of Cooper Donaldson's coaching career after she hit the milestone mark of 300 in a win over rival Shawnee State on Saturday.
     The host Bulldogs, who had nearly double the number of attack errors than they had kills in all three sets, dropped to 1-17 with a fifth consecutive loss.
     Rio used a 6-0 run to snap a 7-all tie in set one before a 7-0 spurt closed out the period and gave the RedStorm an early match lead.
     Wilberforce found itself down just 18-17 in set two after a kill by Mycole Solis, but Rio came up with seven of the final eight winners to finish off the stanza.
     The Bulldogs were down just 6-4 after a Rio service error, but the RedStorm scored eight straight points as part of an 11-2 run for a 17-6 cushion.
     Wilberforce got no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
     Senior Jillian Gardner (Marysville, OH) had 11 kills and freshman Katie Marshall (Carroll, OH) added 10 of her own to lead Rio's winning effort, while sophomore Lydia Steyer (Perrysburg, OH) had 22 assists and a trio of service aces.
     Freshman Mary Osten (Portage, IN) had seven digs and four service aces for the RedStorm and senior Olivia Smith (Bainbridge, OH) had two solo blocks and two block assists.
     Jamika Coleman had six kills to lead Wilberforce, which finished with just eight kills and 18 errors in 48 swings for a -.208 attack percentage.
     Azra Bute had eight assists and Genesis Canuto had seven digs in a losing cause for the Bulldogs, while Cameran Jordan-Ruffin had two solo blocks and one block assist.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Saturday when it resumes River States Conference play at West Virginia University-Tech.
     First serve is slated for noon.