IU East Wins Regular Season Volleyball Title
The index fingers raised in the air said it all. The Indiana University East volleyball team is No. 1 in the Kentucky Inercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Red Wolves won the volleyball program's first regular season KIAC crown with a 25-20, 25-9, 25-18 victory against Indiana University Southeast on Nov. 7 at the Richmond High School Tiernan Center.
IU East (26-11, 8-0) will be the No. 1 seed for the KIAC tournament Nov. 13 and 14 at Asbury College.
"Oh my gosh, it feels amazing," said freshman outside hitter Breezy Strete (Troy, Ohio/Troy High School). "We worked so hard. This was our first goal when we came together at the beginning of the summer. And we just did it!"
The Red Wolves beat the Grenadiers (22-11, 7-1) for the third time this season. The first two IU East-IU Southeast meetings were in doubt until the final point.
This time, the Red Wolves dominated against a Grenadiers team that did not have good health in its favor.
IU East won 51 of 68 points in one stretch. The mega-surge erased an 18-17 deficit late in Game 1, carried the Red Wolves through Game 2 and gave IU East an 18-6 lead in Game 3.
The Red Wolves officially had just three block kills, but they tallied about two dozen "zero blocks," many of which eventually resulted in IU East points.
"Our blocking was what really set the tone," IU East coach Charlie Brown said. "Once we got our middles engaged, we started taking control of the match."
The Grenadiers made the Red Wolves earn it. Twenty-one of IU East's 25 points in the third game came on kills.
Strete led the Red Wolves with 12 kills. Freshman outside hitter Stacie Muir (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville High School) added 10 kills.
Freshman outside hitter Brandie Sanders (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike High School) made 13 digs.
Freshman setter Lauren Crump (Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina Memorial High School) distributed 33 assists and served up four aces.
The Red Wolves' index fingers went in the air when IU East reached match point for the first time at 24-17.
They went up again when IU East clinched the match on a Stacie Muir kill. And they stayed up through celebratory postgame huddles and photos.
"What a rush. What a rush," Brown said. "We've dreamed about it. We've talked about it. We've agonized over it. We've worked for it. And it happened. It's amazing. A great feeling."
IU East has won six in a row. The Red Wolves conclude the regular season Tuesday with a match at the University of Northwestern Ohio.