Box Score After dropping a tough five set match on Friday night at Rio Grande the IU Columbus volleyball team had a quick turnaround for a Saturday afternoon match at West Virgina Tech. They left little doubt they were ready for the challenge as they defeated the Golden Bears in three sets for a River States Conference win.

The first set started out pretty even with four lead changes leading to a score of 9-9. Two kills by Sadie Egan, sandwiched around two by Cora Baker, gave the Crimson Pride a lead of 13-9. After the lead was down to one at 17-16, the Crimson Pride won eight of the final ten points, including the last five in a row, to take the first set 25-18. Eight different players had kills in that first set for IU Columbus.

The second set followed the same pattern as the first set with eight lead changes. The Crimson Pride used a balanced attack once again, with six different players recording kills. Mika Salinas led the way with five kills and three service aces, and the Crimson Pride outlasted the Golden Bears 26-24.

On Friday night the Crimson Pride won the first two sets and had a late lead in the third set before falling in five sets. So when they found themselves trailing in the third set 13-10, one could see why the thought of "here we go again" might have set in. "Not this time!" was the answer to anyone who had those thoughts. With Maria Otero serving the Crimson Pride scored the next 14 points in a row on their way to a 25-14 convincing third set win and the sweep of West Virginia Tech.

The statistics showed the balance throughout the roster:
Sadie Egan led the balanced attack with 11 kills and 7 assists.
Cora Baker had 11 kills, 1 ace and 3 digs.
Mika Salinas had 8 kills and 4 aces.
Bailey Stevens had 25 assists, 1 ace and 7 digs.
Faith Schoettle had 9 digs.
Alyvia Luce, still not 100% after returning from an injury, had 10 digs.

Next on the schedule: The Crimson Pride return home as they will host IU East on Friday at 6:00 pm and Midway University on Saturday at 1:00 pm. Both home matches will be played at CERA Sports Park.