RedStorm shoots down Eagles in regular season finale

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - It wasn't the most picturesque start to Friday night's regular season finale for the University of Rio Grande women's volleyball team.
     But the finish proved to be even worse for the visitors from Midway (Ky.) University.
     The RedStorm spotted the Eagles an early match lead before battering their guests over each of the next three periods, including a lopsided advantage in the final set, en route to a 3-1 victory in River States Conference play at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande earned the win by scores of 18-25, 25-14, 25-20 and 25-5, pushing their record to 27-8 overall and 14-2 in conference play.
     The win also secured head coach Billina Donaldson's club the No. 2 seed and a first-round home game in next week's RSC Championship.
     Midway slipped to 11-16 overall and 6-9 against league foes with the loss.
     Rio Grande had 11 attack errors and hit just .075 in its opening set loss, but the RedStorm committed only five errors and steamrolled their way through the rest of the night.
     The hosts never trailed in set two and used a 13-3 run to erase a 7-5 deficit and take control of set three, but it was the fourth stanza which morphed into a nightmare for the Eagles.
     Rio scored the first 11 points of the set and, after the two teams divided the next eight winners, the RedStorm went on a 10-1 run to close out the night.
     Senior Amanda Rarick (Canal Winchester, OH) led with winning effort with 19 kills, while senior Jordan Brooks (Reynoldsburg, OH) and sophomore Kelli Stewart (Waverly, OH) had 12 kills each.
     Brooks had three solo blocks and four block assists, while Stewart also had three block assists.
     The RedStorm finished with a .298 attack percentage as a team, totaling 55 kills and 16 errors over 131 swings.
     Junior Elle McLoughlin (Zanesville, OH) had 44 assists to go along with 16 digs in the winning effort, while junior Kayla Sedgwick (Richwood, OH) and senior Sofia Otero Marrero (Vega Baja, P.R.) had 17 and 12 digs, respectively, and sophomore McKenna Diederich (Pickerington, OH) had three service aces.
     Midway finished with 36 kills and 26 errors over 139 swings for a .072 attack percentage.
     Aubry Koester led the Eagles with 13 kills, 13 digs and a trio of service aces. Marinna Liedle added 26 assists in a losing cause, while Blair Riney also had 12 digs.
     Rio Grande will learn the identity of its first-round tourney foe following the conclusion of the league's regular season slate.
     First serve for Tuesday's quarterfinal is set for 7 p.m.