The IUS Volleyball Team defeated rival Spalding University for its sixth straight win on Sept. 21 in the Activities Building

The Grenadiers defeated the Golden Eagles in three straight sets, 25-20, 25-21 and 25-12.

After starting the season 1-7, the Grenadiers have fought back and won six straight, bringing their record to 7-7 for the season.

“I think that getting the first couple of wins under our belt was good for us and gave us some confidence,” Lesley Drury-Prather, IUS Volleyball head coach, said. “I think at the beginning of the season we had a couple losses and everyone was getting down on themselves and not really confident in themselves, but now we are getting some wins.”

Julie Roeder, freshman outside hitter, led the way for the Grenadiers with eight kills for the match, followed by Lindsey Maymon, sophomore outside hitter, and Jade Troutman, freshman middle hitter, with seven kills.

“Spalding is a big rival for us and to beat them shows us that we are capable of beating decent teams,” Troutman said. “Our passing was really good, our sets were there and we cut down on a lot of errors which was good for us.”

The Grenadiers had only eight errors for the match, while the Golden Eagles had 18 errors for the night.

Drury-Prather said her team’s passing, defense and aggressiveness at the net were the key factors that led the team to the win.

“Lauren McCartin’s defense was amazing tonight,” Drury-Prather said. “I wanted to see clean volleyball tonight, and that’s what they did and  we ran away with it.”

Lauren McCartin, junior libero, led the Grenadiers with 16 of the team’s 48 defensive digs, followed by Emily Knight, sophomore defensive specialist, with 10 digs.

“We started out a lot stronger than the other games, and that’s kind of what built us up tonight,” McCartin said. “This was a big team and big rival, so we wanted to make sure to come out and win.”

Katie Johnson, freshman setter, said the team’s success has come from their growing chemistry.

“We all meshed together tonight,” Johnson said. “We set the pace of the game, and we didn’t let them set it for us.”

The Grenadiers said their expectations for the rest of their season are high, and they are happy with the way they have been playing.

“I was really proud of my team tonight,” McCartin said. “Our expectations for the rest of the season are to play like we just played tonight.”

The Grenadiers said they hope to continue to build upon their winning streak.

“I think that we needed a spark just to get it rolling,” Drury-Prather said. “We are young, and we don’t have many numbers; so if we can keep everybody healthy we are going to play consistent volleyball, and that’s what I am excited to see.”

The IUS Volleyball team’s next match will be at home against Campbellsville University on Sept. 28.

By NIKOLETTE
LANGDON

Staff

nlangdon@umail.iu.edu