Red Wolves - IU East

The Indiana University East volleyball players got their first wakeup call Oct. 3 at about 8:30 a.m. The second wakeup call came about 10 minutes after noon, and that one got the Red Wolves going.

IU East shook off a nervous start and went on to a 17-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-12 win at reigning Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Asbury College.

The Red Wolves (16-4, 2-0 KIAC) lost the first eight points, but bounced back to dominate the last three games against a team that had won eight of its last 10 matches.

"The first set shocked us," IU East coach Charlie Brown said. "We had talked about this match all season and thought this was the match we needed to get through to pave our way (to a conference title). Maybe there was a lot of pressure.

"We talked about playing our style of volleyball and playing aggressive volleyball, not just challenging but competing. Once we started competing, we started taking over the match."

The key stretch came late in the second game. Asbury (10-7, 2-2 KIAC) had cut a 19-15 Red Wolves lead down to 19-18. IU East got a timely side-out to make it 20-18. Freshman defensive specialist Akeyta Mayes (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North High School) then stepped up and served out the game.

"Our serving through the whole match was very challenging for the other team," Mayes said.

The Red Wolves were not challenged in the last two games.

"We finally put three sets back to back to back with authority," Brown said. "That's what this team needs to have happen. I'd like to say there were some words of wisdom, but (the players) really pulled themselves together. It was put up or shut up time again, and they put up."

Said Mayes: "We're always slow starters in the first game, but we responded and knew we had to shut them down. It's conference, and we want to be undefeated in conference."

Freshman setter Lauren Crump (Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina High School) had 39 assists and established a IU East record for assists in a season. Crump entered Saturday with 709 assists, equal to the mark established by Amanda Martin in 2007.

Freshman middle hitter Breezy Strete (Troy, Ohio/Troy High School) had 11 kills for IU East. Freshman outside hitter Brandie Sanders (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike High School) had 9 kills and a team-best 15 digs.

The Red Wolves hope they sent a wakeup call to the rest of the KIAC with a win against the reigning league champs.

"We knew other than IU Southeast, that Asbury was the big conference hurdle to get over," said freshman outside hitter Victoria Hicks (Lynn, Ind./Randolph Southern High School). "And if we could come out here and bury them, other teams in the conference would say, oh, we need to watch out for IU East."