Streaks Continue as Eagles Roll

WILMORE, Ky. – The streaks continue, as Asbury swept by Indiana Southeast 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-13) on Monday night, winning their 15th straight overall and 22nd straight KIAC regular-season match. 

The Eagles (28-4, 10-0 KIAC) came out a little flat to begin the first two sets, falling behind 7-3 early in set one and 13-6 in set two.  A late 7-3 run, fueled by three kills from Brittney Rader, in set one gave the Eagles a comfortable 20-15 lead as they would then cruise to victory.  In set two the Eagles outscored the Grenadiers 19-8 down the stretch, a run where IUS (18-13, 10-4 KIAC) never scored two points in a row.

In set three the Eagles would turn the tables, jumping out to an 8-2 lead and then go on to have scoring runs of five and seven points.  Allison Rehner recorded 11 kills in the match to lead all attackers.  Rehner and Rader would each record five kills in the first set alone, Rader finished with six kills.

For the first time all season freshman Jessie Bartlow led the team in assists with 20 as Mackenzie Burke added 18.  This is only the third time Bartlow has reached the 20 assist plateau.  The Eagles hit well below their season average of .278 as IUS had a hand in that with nine total team blocks. 

Senior Lindsay Ibold, who moved into first place in the NAIA in attack percentage over the weekend, tallied 10 kills in the match with five coming in the second set alone.  Ibold has reached double-digits in kills 14 times this year; Rehner has now done so 12 times. 

Kelly Cole led all players with 21 digs, the 13th time she’s surpassed 20 on the season.  Cole ranked 9th in the NAIA in total digs before the match. 

Asbury will now hit the road for four straight matches, first travelling to Centre College on Tuesday for a match at 7 p.m.  They will head to St. Louis Pharmacy on Saturday for another KIAC match.