MIDWAY, Ky. — The Midway women's volleyball team used several lengthy scoring runs, including 14 unanswered points in the fourth set, to earn a 3-1 River States Conference victory over Kentucky Christian University on Friday inside Marshall Gymnasium.
The Eagles improved to 5-15 overall and 2-3 in RSC play with the 25-10, 21-25, 25-19, 25-9 victory.
Midway came out firing in the opening set. With the Eagles holding a 5-4 advantage, Elli Streutker recorded three consecutive kills as part of a 5-0 Midway run that stretched the lead to 10-4.
The Eagles put together another run shortly after. Leading 11-5, Midway scored six consecutive points to build a 17-5 advantage. Danica Clark recorded a pair of service aces during the stretch, while Mayson Delong and Lanie Cornelius added kills.
Midway was nearly perfect offensively in the opening frame. The Eagles recorded 17 kills on 22 attempts without committing an attacking error, finishing the set with a .773 hitting percentage en route to the 25-10 victory.
Kentucky Christian responded in the second set despite Midway jumping out to an early 5-1 lead. The Knights battled back to even the score at 11 before the two sides went back and forth throughout the middle portion of the frame.
KCU eventually created separation late and took the second set 25-21 to even the match at one set apiece.
The third set remained tight through the opening stages. Kentucky Christian held a 7-4 advantage before Midway battled back to tie the score at seven.
Neither team could pull away until the Eagles made their move with the score tied at 15. Midway scored five of the next six points to take a 20-16 advantage. Senior Nyla Gaines provided the spark during the run, putting down three consecutive kills.
The Eagles maintained control from there and closed out a 25-19 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Midway then responded to an early deficit with its biggest run of the night in the fourth.
Kentucky Christian scored the first five points of the set before Delong put the Eagles on the board with a kill. That point opened the floodgates as Midway scored 14 consecutive points to turn a 5-0 deficit into a 14-5 advantage.
Blair Riney stepped to the service line following Delong's kill and helped the Eagles score 13 more unanswered points. Riney recorded a pair of service aces during the stretch, while Delong and Allie McClanahan helped fuel the Midway attack.
The Eagles never allowed the Knights to recover.
Midway continued to pull away before another strong stretch from the service line helped put the match away. Aubry Kamholz recorded three aces late in the frame, including back-to-back aces that gave the Eagles match point.
Midway finished off the fourth set 25-9 to secure the 3-1 conference victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Delong led the Midway attack with 12 kills while hitting .400. Gaines turned in a strong performance on Senior Day with nine kills and a .368 hitting percentage.
Streutker continued her impressive stretch with eight kills in the victory. Her performance came after she recorded 10 kills while hitting .429 against No. 21 University of the Cumberlands earlier in the week.
Cornelius also finished with eight kills and added two service aces and three total blocks.
Midway caused problems from the service line throughout the night, finishing with 16 aces. Kamholz led the way with seven aces to go along with eight digs.
Mayme Powell recorded a team-high 19 assists, while senior Paige Miles added 13. Marlee Laycock finished with nine assists and a team-high 11 digs, while Riney chipped in 10 digs.
Following the match, Midway honored its six seniors as part of its Senior Day celebration. Taylor Sobieck, Kaylen Gallenstein, Jessica Edwards, Paige Miles, Danica Clark and Nyla Gaines were recognized for their contributions to the Midway women's volleyball program.
POST GAME INTERVIEW WITH ELLI STREUTKER
UP NEXT
The Eagles will return to action on Oct. 9 when they welcome Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College to Marshall Gymnasium for another RSC matchup.
About Midway University Athletics
Midway University competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and its 29 athletics teams are part of the River States Conference, Mid-South Conference, Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association and USA Archery. For more information about Midway University Athletics, please visit www.gomidwayeagles.com or contact Tyler Beck at 859-846-5366.
