Eagles take control of KIAC with 3-2 victory over IUE

RICHMOND, Ind. –  Asbury fought back for a 3-2 victory over Indiana East on Tuesday night, and took over sole possession of first place in the KIAC.  In a battle of two teams with unblemished conference records and each with only two losses overall, the Eagles took the first set 25-15 before falling in the next two 25-19, 25-20.  Asbury would rally for a 25-21 win in the fourth set before taking the fifth 18-16.

Lindsay Ibold helped the Eagles (27-2, 6-0 KIAC) get off to big start in the first set with five of her nine kills.  Asbury broke open  an 8-8 tie into a 21-12 rout while attacking .300 for the set.  The Eagles tallied 18 kills in the first set as they didn’t make many mistakes with only six errors in 40 attempts.  Mackenzie Burke had 11 of her 25 assists in the first set.  IUE struggled mightily in the first set with a -.029 attack.  Asbury had three total blocks in the set.

The Red Wolves turned the tables in the next two sets as they hit .355 and .278 with 32 total kills.  Asbury would struggle offensively with only 18 kills in those two sets combined, they had 18 in the first set alone.  Despite the struggles the Eagles still held a 13-11 lead in the second set and tied the third at 12-12.  After those points IUE took over and grabbed big leads that Asbury couldn’t come back from.

Needing to win to stay alive the Eagles came out and turned a 4-4 game into a 9-4 lead.  Asbury pushed their lead to 21-14, the largest lead for either team since the first set.  Asbury would get to set point at 24-17 before IUE started to rally.  The Red Wolves would get two kills, a block, and an Asbury hitting error to make it 24-21, but Brittney Rader would send the match to a fifth set with a kill.

The fifth set has belonged to the Eagles this year improving to 5-1 in five set matches this year including 5-0 on the road in five set matches.  Lindsay Ibold blocked down the first attack of the fifth set from IUE, only fitting of what was going to come in the set.  Ibold would register two more block assists, giving her two solo and four assists for the match.  Britney Rader and Allison Rehner combined for seven kills in the final set, with Rader twice setting the Eagles up with match point.  Asbury held a 13-9 lead before IUE once again rallied to tie it at 13-13.  Asbury would squander three match points before they finally won on their fourth chance as Brianna Strete’s attack was just long. 

• Rader and Rehner tied the team and their own season-high with 14 kills in the match. 
• Mackenzie Burke’s 25 assists were one off her career high, Emily Andrews added 22 assists in the match.  The 57 total assists are the most this season.
• Ibold’s six total blocks ties her season-high set on October 8th against Mobile. 
• Asbury’s 61 total kills are the most this season.

Asbury will travel to Pikeville College on Thursday for a 7:00 pm match.  The Eagles will play an exhibition/alumni match on Friday during Homecoming Weekend at 7:00 pm to replace the originally scheduled match against Brescia University.