WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Now you know.
Now you
know the Indiana University East volleyball team can handle the
pressure of entering a tournament as defending champion.
Now you
know the Red Wolves can handle the pressure of playing a championship
match on the opponent's home floor.
Now you know IU East can
handle a bit of adversity in close games or matches.
The Red
Wolves proved all of those things in the process of defending their
title at the Grace College Ramada Plaza Tournament with a pair of wins
Aug. 21.
The Red Wolves (4-0) defeated host Grace 25-23, 25-21,
25-21 in the championship match.
"Now you know," said junior
defensive specialist Sarah Berlatsky (Thomasboro, Ill./Parkland
College). "Now everybody knows who we are and that we are a team
everybody wants to beat."
It was an appropriate bookend to IU
East's second consecutive title at Grace's tournament. The Red Wolves
defeated the Lancers to open their march to the championship at the 2009
Grace tournament.
IU East defeated Bethel College (Ind.) 25-23,
20-25, 29-27, 25-19 earlier Aug. 21 to finish pool play with a perfect
record.
"It's nice to win back-to-back at a tournament where we
won last year and there was a lot of pressure to perform well again,"
Red Wolves coach Charlie Brown said.
Sophomore setter Lauren Crump
(Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina Memorial High School) and junior defensive
specialist Madison Qualkenbush (New Castle, Ind./New Castle High School)
were named to the all-tournament team.
Crump also made the
all-tournament team at this event in 2009.
IU East won nine of the
last 11 points to seal the championship match. Red Wolves freshman
Caitlin Burroughs (Richmond, Ind./Northeastern High School) and Sarah
Shilling (Warsaw, Ind./Warsaw Community High School) combined for three
kills and two blocks during the decisive run.
Shilling attended
high school a few miles from the Grace campus.
The Red Wolves had
some nervous moments in the pivotal third game against Bethel.
IU
East gave up a 24-20 lead and had to save a game point for the Pilots
before prevailing on their seventh game point.
Sophomore middle
hitter Breezy Strete (Troy, Ohio/Troy High School) led IU East with 26
kills on Aug. 21.
Kristin Waechter had team-high 25 digs and four
aces in the two matches.
"We came in here with a goal, and we
accomplished it," said junior right side hitter Paige Lay
(Bloomington/Normal, Ill./Parkland College). "We played pretty well as a
whole."
IU East plays Aug. 25 at Marian University, the No. 32
team in the Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll.
Click here
to view the IU East-Bethel box score.
Click
here
to view the IU East-Grace box score.