PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The Midway women's volleyball team saw their memorable run in the River States Conference Tournament come to an unfortunate end on Saturday when they went toe-to-toe with IU Kokomo (Ind.) in the championship match.

Trailing 2-1, the Eagles won the fourth set to force a winner-take-all fifth set. Midway held a 10-6 lead in the final stanza, but the Cougars stormed back and won the fifth set to clinch the 3-2 victory (19-25, 25-22, 25-13, 20-25, 15-12) and win the RSC Tournament Championship.

The loss unfortunately ends Midway's season as they finish the 2022 campaign with a 19-7 mark and finish runner-up in the RSC Tournament for the second straight season. The Cougars, meanwhile, improve to 30-6 following the win.

The Eagles – who were swept by the Cougars twice in the regular season including one week ago – wasn't going to let that happen on Saturday night as they went back-and-forth with the with IU Kokomo who is currently in the 'receiving votes' portion of the top-25 poll.

Midway came out firing in the opening frame and recorded a .235 hitting mark, while holding the Cougars to a .091 attacking clip. A quick 5-1 run gave the Eagles a lead that they wouldn't relinquish. IU Kokomo pulled within four late, but kills by Hannah Brink (Greenville, Mich.) and Aubry Koester (Apple Valley, Calif.) clinched the 25-19 win in the opening set.

IU Kokomo faced a 15-14 deficit in the second set but rallied with a 6-1 run to take a 20-16 lead forcing Midway to call a timeout. The Eagles responded with a 5-1 run as they pulled within one at 23-22. The Cougars, however, won the final two points to win the set 25-22 and tie the match at one set apiece.

The Cougars stormed to a 12-3 lead in the third and cruised to the 25-13 win as they took a 2-1 lead in the match.

Midway trailed 9-3 early in the fourth set, but they slowly chipped away at the deficit. A quick 3-0 run gave Midway a 19-18 advantage as they closed the set on a 6-1 run to force a winner-take-all fifth set after winning the fourth 25-20.

A kill by Brooke Trompler (Campton, Ky.) gave Midway a 6-3 lead in the fifth and forced IU Kokomo to take a timeout. A few moments later, Brink put down a kill and served an ace to give her team a 10-6 edge as the Cougars burned their second timeout.

The Cougars responded with a furious rally out of the timeout as they would eventually close the set on a 9-2 run en route to clinching the 3-2 victory with the 15-12 win in the fifth set.

Aubry Koester led the offensive attack for the Eagles with a match high 17 kills in the loss. Anju Sugiya (Tokyo, Japan), meanwhile, notched 10 kills and 14 digs. The sophomore also served a match-high four service aces.

Pilar Daugherty (Las Cruces, N.M.) also recorded a double-double with 32 assists and 14 digs, while Mariana Rodriguez (Houston, Texas) led the defensive effort with 20 digs.

The loss brings Midway's season to a end as they finish the year with a 19-7 mark.

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