Pomeroys pull away, defeat RedStorm

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - For the second consecutive night, a good start failed to yield a good finish.
     The University of Rio Grande took the opening set from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, but squandered a lead midway through set two as the Pomeroys mounted a rally which eventually produced a 22-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-22 victory over the RedStorm, Friday night, in River States Conference women's volleyball action at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     SMWC improved to 25-2 overall and 9-1 in league play with its eighth straight triumph.
     Rio Grande, which suffered consecutive losses for the first time since falling in four straight outings from Aug. 22-27, dropped to 20-9 overall and 8-3 in the RSC with the loss.
     The RedStorm appeared primed to deal the Pomeroys a rare setback after rallying late to win set one and taking a 16-13 lead in set two following a kill by junior Kelli Stewart (Waverly, OH).
     SMWC rallied with three straight winners, though, to force a 16-all deadlock - the first of nine ties that would highlight the remainder of the period.
     The last of those ties came at 24-24 following another kill by Stewart, but the Pomeroys proceeded to claim the set and even the match after a kill and a service ace by Masa Pesic.
     SMWC never trailed in set three and only faced deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 in the fourth stanza en route to finishing off the match win.
     Rio Grande hit just .070 over the final two sets (25 kills, 19 errors, 86 swings), as the Pomeroys tallied many of their four solo blocks and 20 block assists over the same period.
     The RedStorm finished with a .159 attack percentage for the match with 58 kills and 32 errors in 164 swings.
     SMWC finished with 55 kills and 21 errors in 181 total attacks for a .188 swing mark.
     Pesic led the Pomeroys with 16 kills, while Karla Melendez and Lisanel Rodriguez finished with 15 and 12 kills, respectively. Melendez also had 16 digs and Pesic added six block assists.
     Aden Britt had 46 assists and 21 digs in the winning effort, while Leishmarie Virella had 19 digs and Daniella Zvonar had 11 digs and four service aces.
     Sofia Soto had three solo blocks and seven block assists for SMWC and Evelyn Morales added a solo block and four block assists.
     Redshirt freshman Taylor Bartrum (Catlettsburg, KY) had 20 kills, 18 digs and three service aces for Rio Grande, while Stewart had 20 kills and 13 digs.
     Senior Elle McLoughlin (Zanesville, OH) had 48 assists in a losing cause, surpassing the 3,000-mark for her career, while junior Jenna Harrison (Gallipolis, OH) had 30 digs and junior Averie Bruce (Baltimore, OH) had five block assists.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Friday night when it opens a weekend road swing at Indiana University East.