RICHMOND, Ind. -- After winning their last eight matches, the Midway University women's volleyball team suffered their first River States Conference loss of the season on Friday in a league matchup with IU East (Ind.).
Neither team had their best offensive outing of the season, but the Red Wolves carded 15 more kills than the Eagles as they won in straight sets 3-0 (28-26, 25-17, 25-13).
The Red Wolves – who stayed perfect on the year at 7-0 overall and 6-0 in league play with the win – finished with 43 kills and a .190 hitting percentage. Midway, meanwhile, finished with 28 kills and a .093 attacking clip.
The Eagles – who entered the match ranked No. 1 in the NAIA in service aces and No. 2 in service aces per set – failed to record an ace for the first time this season. The Blue and Gold didn't help their cause by committing 10 service errors.
Four of those service errors came in a nip-and-tuck first set. Tied at 15 apiece, IU East went on a quick 5-0 run to grab 20-15 advantage, but Midway wouldn't go away just yet. The Eagles answered with an 8-2 run taking a 23-22 lead forcing IU East to call a quick timeout.
Brooke Trompler (Campton, Ky.) had three kills in the rally, while Tori Richman (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Madi Eberst (Chillicothe, Ohio) had one each as Midway was two points away from claiming the first set.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, the Red Wolves closed the first set on a 6-3 run to claim the first set 28-26. IU East would carry that momentum over into the next two sets as they cruised to the 3-0 victory in straight sets.
Trompler led the offensive effort for the Eagles with nine kills to go with six digs, while Alysha Tullar (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) tallied six kills and nine digs. Annessa Roysdon (Monticello, Ky.) and Eberst finished with 11 and 10 assists, respectively, while Eberst also added seven digs in the loss. Mariana Rodriguez (Houston, Texas) led the defensive effort with 10 digs.
With the loss, Midway falls to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in RSC play, as they suffer their first defeat since their season opener on September 10. They'll look to return to the winning side of things on Saturday when they take on Ohio Christian at noon ET in Circleville.
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