Rio outlasts Oakland City in five sets

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - If you compared records prior to Friday evening's first serve, one may have thought that a University of Rio Grande victory over Oakland City University would've come with ease.
     After all, the RedStorm had just one loss in River States Conference play and the visiting Mighty Oaks had yet to record a win against a league foe.
     But as things turned out, a triumph for head coach Billina Cooper Donaldson's squad proved anything but easy.
     Rio Grande scored seven of the final nine points in a fifth and deciding set for a 25-19, 21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-9 victory at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     The RedStorm improved to 19-7 overall and 7-1 in the RSC with the win.
     Oakland City dropped to 10-11 overall and 0-7 against conference foes with the loss.
     After forcing the fifth set, the Mighty Oaks trailed just 8-7 before a kill by junior Averie Bruce (Baltimore, OH) and consecutive attack errors by OCU gave Rio Grande an 11-7 advantage and a bit of breathing room.
     A subsequent attack error by the RedStorm got the visitors within 11-8, but four of the final five winners went the way of the home team to close things out.
     Rio Grande finished with 67 kills and 34 errors in 168 attacks for a .196 swing percentage.
     Junior Kelli Stewart (Waverly, OH) led the winning effort with 18 kills and 17 digs, while redshirt freshan Taylor Bartrum (Catlettsburg, KY) had 15 kills and 11 digs of her own.
     Bruce tallied 14 kills and senior Jillian Gardner (Marysville, OH) had 10 kills, while senior Elle McLoughlin (Zanesville, OH) had 50 assists and 13 digs.
     The RedStorm's victorious outing also including 18 digs from junior Jenna Harrison (Gallipolis, OH) and four block assists by senior Olivia Smith (Bainbridge, OH).
     Oakland City hit .157 for the night with 48 kills and 24 errors in 153 attacks.
     De'sheonna Foster and Evan Hamann had 12 and 11 kills, respectively, while Libby Mehriger and Ella Decker had 25 and 15 assists, respectively. Mehringer also had 11 digs, while Foster had three solo blocks and three block assists.
     Elleanor Stark and Marlee Laycock tallied 12 and 11 digs, respectively, in a losing cause.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Brescia University for a noon first serve.