IU EAST RALLIES FOR WIN

The 24th-ranked Red Wolves rallied for a 28-26, 21-25, 13-25, 25-20, 16-14 win against No. 7 Grand View University on Saturday on the second day of the Olivet Nazarene University Homestead/Holiday Inn Express Invite.

The match between Indiana University East (16-0) and the Vikings (12-4) was the NAIA Match of the Week.

IU East previously had not beaten a team ranked better than 12th in the program’s NAIA history.

IU East finished the tournament with a 25-13, 25-16, 25-10 against Robert Morris University (3-12) later in the day.

“It was the will to win,” said IU East coach Charlie Brown. “It was a total dogfight, and our girls didn’t back down. I was worried about how we would respond when the chips got down because we’ve never played a team ranked that high, but we proved to ourselves that we can play with any team in the country.”

Red Wolves freshman outside hitter Mallory Livingston came up with 19 kills, including a putaway on match point.

The final set featured eight ties and two lead changes. The largest lead was 13-10 for IU East after an ace by senior libero Kristin Waechter, who also had a match-high 33 digs.

“Huge. The biggest win in the history of IU East volleyball,” Brown said. “We’ve definitely got our stride now.”