RedStorm tames Tigers

Rio Grande Sports Information
     GEORGETOWN, Ky. - After coughing up a significant lead in the first set, the University of Rio Grande made sure there was no repeat performance the rest of the night.
     The RedStorm rebounded to finally put away the opening stanza before rolling through each of the next two periods en route to a 26-24, 25-13, 25-11 thumping of Georgetown College, Tuesday night, in non-conference women's volleyball action at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym.
     Rio Grande improved to 18-7 with its 11th triumph in the last 12 outings.
     The Tigers dropped to 2-13 as a result of the loss.
     Rio Grande led by as many as eight points, 20-12, in the opening set before the hosts stormed back with a 12-4 spurt which knotted the score at 24-all.
     The RedStorm regained the lead on a kill by redshirt freshman Taylor Bartrum (Catlettsburg, KY) and then secured the set on a Georgetown attack error.
     Sets two and three were far less dramatic.
     Rio led 8-6 early in the second set before finishing on a 17-7 run, while the Tigers never led in the final period as the RedStorm raced to an 8-2 advantage out of the gate and never looked back.
     Rio Grande enjoyed a .345 attack percentage over the final two sets and finished the match at .277 (40 kills, 12 errors, 101 swings).
     Bartrum finished with a team-high 10 kills and 13 digs, as well as two solo blocks and two block assists, while senior Elle McLoughlin (Zanesville, OH) had 29 assists and 11 digs in the winning effort.
     Junior Jenna Harrison (Gallipolis, OH) had 12 digs and junior Nigella Reck (Covington, OH) added three service aces, while senior Olivia Smith (Bainbridge, OH) was credited with two solo blocks and three block assists.
     Georgetown had just four more kills (28) than it did attack errors (24) in 117 attacks and finished with a .034 swing percentage.
     Abbie Butterworth had seven kills to pace the Tigers, while Faith Miller and Reagan Miller tallied 12 and 11 assists, respectively. Faith Miller also had 11 digs.
     Reagan Kupper had a solo block and a block assist for GC, while Zion Smith had three block assists.
     Rio Grande returns to the court on Friday evening when it opens a weekend homestand against Oakland City University at the Newt Oliver Arena.
     First serve is set for 5 p.m.