MIDWAY, Ky. - After an opening set win, Midway got on the cusp of victory again in the following two but failed to close, eventually falling 21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-13 to Rio Grande in a River States Conference women's volleyball matchup Friday.
The Eagles started fast in the opening set, riding three Aubry Koester kills to an early 6-2 lead. Though the Red Storm rallied, Midway was able to gain separation, thanks in part to blocks by Nyla Gaines on back-to-back points, which gave them a comfortable 23-17 lead.
The Eagles seemed poised to take a two-set lead, after a 20-20 tie became a 23-20 lead thanks to Meghan Adams recording two kills and splitting a block with Koester.
With the score at 23-22, Rio's Kayla Sedgwick made perhaps the play of the game, as Koester looked to have an open shot at a kill, only for Sedgwick to make a diving save with the back of her hand, allowing Rio to tie the game off an attack error.
Midway would go back up 24-23, but two straight kills and an ace allowed the Red Storm to pull even.
It would be the Eagles who would rally from a big deficit in the third set behind an unlikely source.
Inserted into the lineup with her team down 17-10, Lindsey Whitehouse provided an enormous spark that saw Midway pull even at 23. Making just her third appearance of the season Whitehouse had eight assists on 13 points, five of them to Adams with whom she also shared a block during the rally.
But the Eagles were again unable to finish, as Kelli Stewart gave Rio Grande a 24-23 lead with a kill, then assisted on the decisive point from Olivia Smith.
There would be no high drama in the fourth set, in which Rio hit .700 to secure the win.
Koester finished the night with a match-high 19 kills. She also had 10 digs and was joined by teammates Blair Riney (19) and Anju Sugiya (18) in double figures.
Marinna Liedle led the team with 22 assists. The Eagles had a season-high 10 blocks, with Adams, who currently leads the RSC with one block per-set, accounting for five of them.
Now 7-6 overall with a 2-2 conference record, the Eagles host another River States foe from Ohio at noon Saturday, when they take on Shawnee State.
