SAINT MARY OF THE WOODS, Ind.- Fox sportscaster Joe Davis coined the line "To beat the champ, you gotta knock 'em out" after the Los Angeles Dodgers' World Series championship in 2025.
The line could just as easily be applied to the volleyball program at Indiana University Kokomo.
Despite losing twice, and winning just one set of seven, to the Pomeroys of St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in the regular season and staring a potential reverse sweep in the face, the Cougars turned the tide when it mattered, winning their second straight RSC women's volleyball title Saturday at Hamilton Arena in western Indiana. The Cougars blitzed the Pomeroys with wins of 25-18 and 25-13 in the first two sets, then bounced back from losses of 27-25 and 25-20 in the third and fourth sets to win the title with a 15-5 triumph in the fifth.
IU Kokomo only trailed once in the opening set, when SWMC scored the first point of the match. After winning the next point, the Cougars never trailed again, with a key run in the middle of the frame allowing Kokomo to pull away. With the set tied at nine, IUK rattled off eight of the next 11 points, taking a 17-12 lead that never faded. It took the Cougars three attempts at set point, but a Rylee Springer kill finally sealed a 25-18 set victory.
The second set followed a similar pattern, this time with the IU Kokomo run even more dramatic. With the two teams tied at 11 in the second frame, the Cougars exploded for a 14-2 run, completely taking control of the match. The Cougars did not commit an attack error in the second set, finishing nine kills and putting down five service aces.
In the third set, SMWC kept the match alive in the first of the day's frames to go down to the wire. SMWC seemed to have the set in hand, holding a 23-18 lead. Kokomo came storming back behind a barrage of kills from Mya Grigsby, tying the match at 24 in a run that included twice turning away set point. SMWC finally extended the match with a 27-25 victory, ending on a kill by Masa Pesic.
Riding the high of the dramatic fourth set win, the Pomeroys pushed the match to a decisive fifth set. SMWC took the lead at 12-11 and never looked back, leading for the remainder of a frame that was capped off by a kill from Kelstin Burnette. After logging just two more kills than errors in the first two sets, the Pomeroys had 31 kills to just 10 errors in the third and fourth sets.
IU Kokomo's championship pedigree kicked in with the title on the line in the fifth set. The Cougars swung just 18 times, put down eight kills, and recorded a .444 attack percentage en route to a 15-5 victory. The championship point was provided by Trishell Johnson on a kill on IU Kokomo's first attempt at winning the match.
The match was a showcase of the last two RSC Players of the Year: IU Kokomo's Mya Grigsby and SMWC's Karla Melendez-Martinez. The two hitters combined for 51 kills (29 for Grigsby and 22 for Melendez-Martinez) on 154 swings (76 and 78, respectively). Both players had double-doubles, with Grigsby at 15 digs and Melendez-Martinez at 19 digs.
The Cougars and the Pomeroys will be the RSC's representatives in the NAIA Tournament - IU Kokomo as tournament champion and SMWC as regular season champion. The Cougars are considered potential hosts for the First Round, while the Pomeroys are making their first trip to the NAIA Tournament in program history. The sites and opponents will be announced Monday at 5:00 p.m. eastern by the NAIA national office in Kansas City.