Red Wolves - IU East

Brandie Sanders had her shoulder wrapped in ice. Jessica White didn't have any voice left. Most of the Indiana University East volleyball players were worn out after their latest marathon match.

Yet the Red Wolves were happy, because they found a way to win another close one.

IU East improved to 11-2 with a 19-25, 27-25, 19-25, 25-20, 15-10 victory against Huntington University on Sept. 16 at the Richmond High School Tiernan Center.

IU East won eight of the last nine points to erase a 9-7 deficit in the fifth game. The Red Wolves improved to 3-1 in five-game matches.

"We just realize when we get down that we have to bring it, that it's do or die," said freshman defensive specialist Kristin Waechter (Muncie, Ind./Daleville High School). "We had a lot more energy. Once we got our energy level where we needed to be, we could execute things we needed to execute."

The big comeback resulted in some big statistics. Freshman setter Lauren Crump (Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina High School) matched the school single-match assist record for the third time this season with 47. Freshman outside hitter Breezy Strete put away a career-high 18 kills, including two in a row to clinch Game 2. Sanders (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike High School) compiled 12 kills and 20 digs. Sophomore libero Madison Qualkenbush (New Castle, Ind./New Castle High School) made 21 digs. Waechter was 16 of 16 on serve reception against a Huntington team (5-6) that served up 11 aces.

IU East beat Huntington in four games in August, but the Foresters were missing a key player at the time.

"This was a very big match for us," IU East coach Charlie Brown said. "(Huntington) had been coming on strong since they got healthy, and we wanted to prove we had gotten better as well.

"We didn't play our best, but we came back and fought through a lot of adversity. We made some personnel changes, and we found the right combination. Our serve receive got better, we kept them out of system, and we started playing defense like we're supposed to play defense."

The IU East players' word of the day was "dominate." Brown said the Red Wolves didn't quite dominate from start to finish, but they did dominate the key points. IU East saved a game point in Game 2 before two strong serves from White (Sheldon, Ill./Kankakee Community College) set up Strete's big kills. Waechter served up four consecutive points late in Game 4 to give the Red Wolves momentum heading into the fifth and decisive game.

The Red Wolves again enjoyed enthusiastic support from the new Howl Crowd student section. The Crowd included some dedicated fans in the front row who dressed in Halloween-style IU East costumes in support of the team.

"That whole Howl Crowd is a blast because they are there for us," Brown said. "You can't say enough about them. They cheered. They were loud. That's what makes it fun. That's the college experience."

The Red Wolves travel to Kentucky this weekend for two matches. IU East faces Union College on Sept. 18 and University of the Cumberlands on Sept. 19.