IU Kokomo claims fifth RSC Volleyball Championship in a row with 2022 title
IU Kokomo claims fifth RSC Volleyball Championship in a row with 2022 title
BRACKET & STATS
PITTSBURGH -- For the fifth time in a row, Indiana University Kokomo won the River States Conference Volleyball Championship. The Cougars are the 2022 champions after going 3-0 this weekend in Pittsburgh with Point Park (Pa.) University serving as the host of all eight postseason qualifiers.
IU Kokomo (30-6, 16-2 RSC) reached the 30-win mark and punched its ticket to the NAIA National Championship with a 3-2 win over Midway (Ky.) University in Saturday night's finals. The Cougars were the No. 2 seed, and they came out on top of the upset-minded No. 4 Eagles, 19-25, 25-22, 25-13, 20-25, 15-12.
It was a big comeback at the end to ensure the fifth title in a row. Midway had the Cougars on the ropes with a 10-6 lead in the fifth. But IU Kokomo came up big with a 9-2 run to end the match and claim the championship, 15-12.
Sidney Gerig and Audrey Strawsma each had 14 kills, and Lorelei Porter added 10 for IU Kokomo's finals wins. Strawsa had 10 blocks, Lexi Broyles had six blocks and eight kills, and Gerig added five blocks in a big perfomance at the net by IU Kokomo. Allison Richman, a setter, contributed seven blocks and six kills.
Other leaders for IU Kokomo were Kaley Lyons with 30 assists and eight digs, Alyvia Smith with 32 digs and Julia Sanders with 16 digs.
For Midway, Aubry Koester led all players with 17 kills. Anju Sugiya put up 10 kills and 14 digs. Pilar Daugherty came up with 32 assists, 14 digs and six kills while Mariana Rodriguez made 20 digs.
IU Kokomo had marched on to the finals with a 3-1 win over No. 3 IU East in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars beat No. 7 IU Southeast in Friday's quarterfinals.
Midway started its day with a big upset of No. 1 seed and host Point Park, 3-1, in the first semifinal. That was after the Eagles took care of No. 5 St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) in the quarterfinals on Friday.
IU Kokomo and RSC regular season champion Point Park will find out their NAIA National Championship pairing and host site on Monday with the announcements from the NAIA national office.