Box Score The Crimson Pride volleyball team opened their weekend road trip at Rio Grande on Friday night. Things looked great as they took the first two sets and led 20-18 in the third set. The Redstorm, behind four kills and three Crimson Pride errors, scored the last seven points to take the third set. Rio Grande used a dominating net presence to sweep the final three sets for a comeback 3-2 win in five sets.
Rio Grande started the match on fire behind Averie Bruce, as she had four early kills en route to a 5-1 lead. The hosts pushed that lead to 18-8 as Gracie Perkins had four kills in a five point stretch. The Crimson Pride rallied to win 12 of the next 13 points for a 20-19 lead. IU Columbus was able to score the final two points and take the first set 26-24.
Rio Grande held the lead through much of the second set, but the Crimson Pride rallied again. Trailing 20-15, IU Columbus ran off five points to tie things at 20-20. Rio Grande took the next three points, only to see IU Columbus rip off the last five points for the 25-23 win.
The third set looked promising for the Crimson Pride as they held a 20-18 lead and were looking for a three set win. However, the Redstorm began to dominate the net. They scored the final seven points in the third set for a 25-20 margin.
The fourth set was close as the teams were tied at 14-14. The home team's net presence really began to shine as they scored five of their next seven points with blocks from Bruce and Perkins. They took the fourth set 25-22 to send the match to a deciding fifth set.
The Redstorm had all the momentum and they hurried out to leads of 3-1, 6-2, and 9-3. The Crimson Pride cut the lead to 9-6, but that was as close as they would get, and Rio Grande completed the comeback win 15-7.
Rio Grande had a total of 20 blocks with 16 of those coming in the final three sets. Bruce totaled 23 kills and eight blocks, and Perkins totaled 18 kills and 11 blocks.
Sadie Egan had 17 kills, 6 assists and 7 digs,
Cora Baker had 11 kills and 13 digs.
Mika Salinas had 11 kills and 4 service aces.
Kilani Jackson had 11 kills.
Bailey Stevens had 31 assists and 9 digs.
Next on the schedule: The Crimson Pride need to regroup quickly as they travel south to face West Virginia Tech on Saturday at 1 pm.
