Red Wolves Drop 3-1 Contest against IU Kokomo

KOKOMO, Ind. – Facing one of their toughest conference tests of the season, the IU East women's volleyball team gave IU Kokomo a run for their money.

The Red Wolves fell the first two sets, grabbed the set win in the third, but later dropped the closely contested fourth set (25-19, 25-17, 18-25, 25-23).

The loss is the first in RSC play for the Red Wolves.

Jessica Swimm had a team-high 18 kills. Teah Barrett Matthews had 12 and Brooke Lepper was also in double-figures with 10.

The Red Wolves stormed out to a 9-2 lead in Set 3. They never trailed in the set. Tied 2-2, IUE went on a 7-0 run. After a service error, Reece Shirley aced the next serve for a 4-2 lead. Kills from Lepper, Bickel, and Swimm brought the score to 8-2. Lepper and Barrett Matthews scored the last five points of the third set for the Red Wolves.

In the fourth, the Red Wolves never led but kept the score within striking distance for most of the set. The largest lead the Cougars had was a 10-5 advantage early in the set. Three errors, an ace, and a kill from Lepper brought the deficit down to one and a Cougar timeout.

IU Kokomo gained another 4-point lead but the Red Wolves were able to chip away at the deficit to tie the set 20-20 after a 5-1 run. The score was later tied at 21-21 and 23-23, but the Cougars scored the last two points for the 25-23 win.

Shirley had 42 assists and 19 digs.

The Red Wolves will travel to Rio Grande on Friday before taking on WVU Tech on Saturday.