RedStorm cruises to sweep of KCU

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - On Halloween night, there were no tricks and plenty of treats for the University of Rio Grande.
     The RedStorm used extended scoring runs to win each of the first two sets and scored the final two points in set three to close out a 25-17, 25-17, 25-23 victory over Kentucky Christian University in River States Conference women's volleyball action at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande improved to 22-10 overall and 10-4 in the RSC with the win.
     The Knights, who stretched Rio to a five-set affair in their earlier meeting, slipped to 10-17 overall and 2-11 against league foes with the loss.
     Rio Grande used a 5-0 run to snap a 10-all tie and then scored six of the final seven winners to take the opening stanza, while a 10-1 spurt in set two erased an 8-7 deficit and put the RedStorm in control.
     Rio jumped to a 5-1 advantage to begin the third stanza, but the Knights rallied to knot the score at 8-8 and set the stage for a back-and-forth affair the rest of the way.
     KCU actually led as late as 20-19 after a service ace by Faith Fowler and the set was later tied at 21-, 22- and 23-all, but the RedStorm closed things out on consecutive kills by freshman Jozy Lougheed (Londonderry, OH).
     Rio Grande recorded a .234 attack percentage for the match with 44 kills and 22 errors in 94 swings.
     Junior Averie Bruce (Baltimore, OH) led a balanced attack at the net with 11 kills in addition to a trio of block assists defensively, while senior Elle McLoughlin (Zanesville, OH) had 33 assists and a pair of service aces.
     Junior Jenna Harrison (Gallipolis, OH) had 11 digs and two aces of her own, while Lougheed had 10 digs and junior Kelli Stewart (Waverly, OH) also had a pair of aces.
     Kentucky Christian finished with 23 kills and 17 errors in 84 attacks for a .071 swing percentage.
     Ally Coriell led the Knights with six kills to go along with a solo block and a trio of block assists, while Mary Ansley Herrington had 11 assists and Danika Street finished with seven digs.
     Amber Nelson and Elizabeth Rigsby added three block assists each in a losing cause.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Saturday when it hosts a tri-match which also involves Shawnee State University and the University of Cincinnati-Clermont.
     The RedStorm will face Shawnee State in the 1 p.m. opener and will tangle with the Cougars in the 5 p.m. nightcap.