Rams take season series from Rio men

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande's hopes at taking the season series from Bluefield (Va.) University failed to materialize.
     The RedStorm coughed up an early lead in set one, never led in set two and faded at the end of set three in a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-20) loss to the visiting Rams, Tuesday night, in non-conference action at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     Rio Grande slipped to 6-16 with a second straight loss and its sixth loss in seven outings.
     Bluefield improved to 7-9 with the win - its third in as many outings against the RedStorm this season.
     The Rams trailed 5-1 out of the gate in set one and were still on the short end of an 11-9 tally before a stretch of seven straight points, including six consecutive service aces by Kyle Pietrzak, gave BC a lead it would never relinquish.
     Rio Grande never led in set two, although it did forge ties at 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20 and 21 before the Rams scored the final four points of the set to take a commanding lead in the match.
     Bluefield led in set three until a 3-0 Rio run - capped by a kill from senior Caden Donaldson (Jackson, OH) - gave the RedStorm a 12-11 advantage.
     The lead swayed back-and-forth until the Rams snapped a 20-all deadlock with the final five points of the match.
     Bluefield finished with a .260 attack percentage (32 kills, 12 errors, 77 swings) and 13 service aces.
     Pietrzak had 12 kills to lead the Rams, while Benedict Somes had 28 assists and Colby Mutter tallied 11 digs.
     Mason Lloyd added a solo block and three block assists for BC.
     Rio Grande had 34 kills and 17 errors in 80 attacks for a .212 swing percentage.
     Donaldson had 22 of the RedStorm's kills and had a .548 attack percentage. He also had a team-best 10 digs.
     Sophomore Mitch Bartecki (Valparaiso, IN) tallied a match-best 30 assists in the loss, while junior Tyler Miller-Bross (Loveland, OH) was credited with five block assists and freshman Otavio Tonoli (Campinas, Brazil) had a solo block and three block assists.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Wednesday night in a Mid-South Conference match at Midway University.
     First serve is set for 7 p.m.