Red Wolves Topple No. 21 Marian in Season Opener

RICHMOND, Ind. – Jessica Swimm had 26 kills and Reece Shirley added 47 assists as the IU East women's volleyball team defeated No. 21 Marian in the season opener 3-1 on Wednesday (23-25, 29-27, 25-16, 25-16).

The win avenges the two losses last year against the Knights.

"This is a great way to start our season and set a standard for ourselves going forward," head coach Kim McConaha said. "This group works their tails off in practices to make sure improvements are happening daily. It takes everyone invested. Now it is time to focus on the weekend. We still have a lot of work to do."

Marian started off hot in the first set. They rolled out to an 8-1 run which caused head coach Kim McConaha to call her first timeout of the season. The Red Wolves would chip away at the deficit and get it down to one point at 24-23. But an attack error from Swimm clinched the set one win.

In set two, it was much of the same in the early going. Marian scored four of the first five points. IU East grabbed their first lead in the set at 17-16. The Red Wolves were on a 5-0 run to take a 20-16 lead but Marian went on an 8-3 run to be one point away from taking a 2-0 set lead. Teah Barrett Matthews extended the set with a kill to tie it 24-24. She later did the same thing to make it 25-25 and freshman Tia Cooper added a kill to grab the 26-25 lead. The Knights were able to tie the set again at 27-27 but an attacking error and a kill from Swimm gave the Red Wolves the 29-27 set win.

The Red Wolves led from start to finish in set three before a competitive fourth set. After the first 20 points in the set, the Red Wolves led 11-9. They then went on a 7-1 run to put the game out of reach. Barrett Matthews finished the game off with a kill.

The Red Wolves will head to IU Kokomo to play four games in two days. They start off with a game against Saint Xavier on Friday at 1 p.m.