RedStorm rolls past Brescia

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - Things may have started slow for the University of Rio Grande women's volleyball team, but they darn sure didn't end that way.
     After finishing with just one more kill than they had attack errors in a set one win, the RedStorm tallied a .463 swing percentage over the final two sets to finish off a 3-0 sweep of Brescia University (25-20, 25-13, 25-9), Saturday afternoon, in River States Conference play at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande improved to 20-7 overall and 8-1 in the RSC with the win, its 16th triumph in the team's last 18 outings.
     The victory also gave head coach Billina Cooper Donaldson's squad its third consecutive campaign of 20 wins or more.
     Brescia dropped to 6-15 overall and 1-7 against league foes.
     The RedStorm had nine kills and eight errors over 37 attacks in set one, but tallied 24 kills and just five errors over 41 swings in sets two and three combined.
     For the match, Rio finished with a .256 attack percentage (33 kills, 13 errors, 78 attacks).
     Brescia, on the other hand, finished with 23 kills and 30 errors over 86 kills for a -.081 swing percentage.
     The Bearcats' only lead of the day came in set one when a kill by Callista Chapman capped a 4-0 run and erased a 3-0 Rio Grande lead.
     Redshirt freshman Taylor Bartrum (Catlettsburg, KY) had 10 kills to lead the RedStorm, while senior Elle McLoughlin (Zanesville, OH) totaled 23 assists and three service aces and junior Jenna Harrison (Gallipolis, OH) had 10 digs to reach 1,000 for her collegiate career.
     Bartrum also had two service aces and three block assists, while senior Olivia Smith (Bainbridge, OH) had a solo block and four block assists.
     Kendyn Syfert and Callie Mason had five kills each to pace Brescia, while Cheaney Archer had 11 assists and Campbell McBride had two service aces.
     Mason also had seven digs in the loss.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Thursday night when it hosts RSC West Division leader Indiana University Kokomo.
     First serve is set for 7 p.m.