RedStorm rebounds with win over Midway

Rio Grande Sports Information
      MIDWAY, Ky. - The University of Rio Grande spotted Midway University an early match lead before roaring back to post a 21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-13 triumph over the Eagles, Friday night, in River States Conference women's volleyball action at Marshall Gymnasium.
      The RedStorm improved to 16-5 overall and 5-1 in conference play with the win.
      Midway dropped to 7-6 overall and 2-2 in the RSC.
      The Eagles led by as many as seven points in the opening set before Rio rallied to twice close the gap to just two points, but a late 4-0 run by the hosts produced a 23-17 lead and an eventual victory.
      From that point on, though, the match belonged to the RedStorm.
      Rio rallied from a 23-20 deficit late in set two, scoring six of the final seven winners, including the final three points - on kills by junior Olivia Smith (Bainbridge, OH) and senior Amanda Rarick (Canal Winchester, OH) and a service ace by Smith - after Midway had a set point opportunity at 24-23.
      The RedStorm held a seemingly commanding 17-10 lead in set three, but Midway rallied to forge two ties - at 22-all and 23-all - before Rio scored the final two points to gain the match lead.
      Rio led just 8-6 in the fourth stanza before going on an 11-1 run to blow things open and secure the match victory.
      In set four, the RedStorm finished with 14 kills and no errors in 20 attacks for a .700 swing percentage.
      Rio hit .235 for the match, tallying 50 kills and 18 errors in 136 attacks.
      Rarick and sophomore Kelli Stewart (Waverly, OH) finished with 17 and 13 kills, respectively, while junior Elle McLoughlin (Zanesville, OH) had 44 assists, 10 digs and four block assists. Rarick had 10 digs as well.
      Sophomore Jenna Harrison (Gallipolis, OH) led the RedStorm with 15 digs, sophomore Averie Bruce (Baltimore, OH) had a solo block and four block assists and junior Kayla Sedgwick (Richwood, OH) had two service aces in the winning effort.
      Aubrey Koester had 19 kills, 10 digs and two service aces to pace Midway, while Marinna Liedle and Lindsey Whitehouse finished with 22 and 12 assists, respectively.
      Blair Riney and Anju Sugiya had 19 and 18 digs, respectively, in a losing cause for the Eagles, while Meghan Adams had a solo block and four block assists.
      As a team, Midway finished with 48 kills and 27 errors in 138 swings (.152).
      Rio Grande returns to action Saturday in a Conference Crossover event hosted by Indiana Tech University.
      The RedStorm will face Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College at 2 p.m. before meeting 8th-ranked and defending national champion Indiana Wesleyan at 4 p.m.