Rio collects first win in home opener

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande took control early in set three and pulled away down the stretch in set for en route to a 3-1 win (27-25, 19-25, 25-16, 25-19) over Bluefield (Va.) University, Tuesday night, in non-conference men's volleyball action at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     The RedStorm, who were playing their home opener, picked up their first win in three tries this season.
     The contest was the season opener for the visiting Rams.
     Rio Grande rallied from a late three-point deficit to win the opening stanza, while Bluefield never trailed in set two to even up the match score.
     The Rams tallied three of the first four winners in the third set, but the RedStorm responded with a 6-1 spurt for a 7-4 advantage and a lead they would never relinquish.
     Bluefield led 14-11 in set four following a Rio service error, but the RedStorm scored the next four points and never trailed again.
     The Rams did knot the score at 16-all after another RedStorm service error, but Rio responded with nine of the final 12 winners to claim its first triumph of the season.
     The RedStorm hit a match-best .440 in the fourth stanza (14 kills, three errors, 25 kills) and finished the match with a .168 swing percentage after totaling 49 kills and 30 errors over 113 attacks.
     Senior Daniel Bedoya (Acacias, Colombia) had 18 kills and freshman Daniel Rivas (Valle Del Cauca, Colombia) added 12 of his own in the winning effort, while junior Mitch Bartecki (Valparaiso, IN) had 38 assists and freshman Maaz Khan (Peshawar, Pakistan) tallied 12 digs. Khan and Bedoya also had two service aces each.
     Senior Tyler Miller-Bross (Loveland, OH) had five block assists for Rio.
     Bluefield hit .125 for the match with 33 kills and 21 assists in 96 swings.
     Mason Lloyd led the Rams with a dozen kills to go along with a solo block and four block assists, while Benedict Somes had 18 assists and Colby Mutter recorded eight digs.
     Dakari Williams had two solo blocks and a block assist in a losing cause for BU, while Richard Cisneros had four block assists and Kyle Pietrzak had a pair of service aces.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Friday in the opening round of the Rio Invitational Tournament. The RedStorm will face Siena Heights (Mich.) University at 2 p.m. and Park University-Gilbert (Az.) at 8 p.m.