IU Southeast came away victorious in the 70-minute game against Berea College, held Oct. 2 in the Activities Building.

The Grenadiers swiftly held off the Mountaineers throughout each set to come away with the win in three sets; 25-15, 25-17, 25-15. This fast-paced game was dominated by attacks from both teams.

IU Southeast ended the game with 38 total kills to the Mountaineers 16.

Jade Troutman, junior middle block, lead with 12 kills, and Sara Schum, sophomore middle block, contributed nine.

Stephanie Bradshaw, sophomore defense specialist, completed the night with nine digs. Freshman defense specialist, Kelsey Davidson added eight, and Meaghen Tompkins, sophomore setter, had seven. Tompkins also ended the night with 31 assists.

Katie Tinsley, IUS volleyball assistant coach, is currently filling in for Lesley Drury Prather, IUS volleyball head coach, while she is on maternity leave.

Tinsley said the lineup was adjusted again, but she is happy with how the girls connected on the court.

“We went to a five and one tonight, which means Meaghen was setting all the way around,” Tinsley said. “Sara and Meaghen connected really well, and Jade and Meaghen connected, too. Sara and Jade are our quickest hitters, so we definitely want to go to them first ball, but, if we can’t make it to them, then definitely get it to our outside hitters. They did a really good job at connecting out there tonight.”

Tinsley said she was proud of the way the Grenadiers played, but there is still room for improvement.

“I think they did an overall pretty good job tonight,” Tinsley said. “We still have a lot to work on. The second game we struggled, and we were point-to-point with them. In practice, we always work on what we call FBSO — first ball side out. As soon as we get that first pass, we have to get it to the team and get that first kill right off our serve receive. We continually work on that in practice. We tried to work on it against Spalding and again tonight, but, overall, I think they did well tonight.”

Schum said she agreed with Tinsley about the team needing to improve on specific aspects of the game, and she does see improvement.

“I think we did a lot better tonight than we did last week,” Schum said. “Obviously, it showed a lot more throughout the game, and the score was so much better, but we still really need to improve on our serve receive and first ball side out.”

IU Southeast served first and quickly scored the first three points of the game.

The first set was very fast-paced, with many successful blocks from the Mountaineers. Tompkins tried many times to tip the ball over the net, but the Mountaineers were prepared for this tactic and consistently returned the ball to IU Southeast’s side of the court.

Despite the setbacks, the Grenadiers won the first set, 25-15.

IU Southeast took the first two points of the second set. Berea College fought back during this set and worked to keep the score close.

The lead continued to shift between the two teams as the set went on, and the Grenadiers called their first timeout with the score tied at nine. IU Southeast came back and scored the next two points after the timeout.

Throughout the first and second set, Berea College was able to limit Coral Maybrier, freshman outside hitter, to a total of four kills.

Tinsley said Maybrier was not paying attention or seeing her blockers.

“We took her out in the second game, not to sit her as a freshman, but just to get her to rethink and see what she needs to see,” Tinsley said. “We put her back in, in the third game, and she did fine.”

Kristen Newberry, sophomore defense specialist, began serving with the score standing at 20-17 and finished the game with a five point streak, winning the set for the Grenadiers.

The Mountaineers tried to rally back during the third set. Newberry again served the game point, and PJ Cockerell, senior middle blocker, spiked the ball to end the final rally, 25-15.

Tinsley said she insists the most important thing the team needs to remember is to communicate.

“The constant reminder of communication just at every game,” Tinsley said. “Constantly talking point-for-point, not in just spurts. As soon as they realized we’re not talking and as soon as we step up that, the rest of our game usually steps up, too.”

By KIM KERBY

Staff

kdkerby@ius.edu