"Rio Grande"

  For the past five years, only two teams have won the Mid-Ohio Conference volleyball title. From 1991-1993, the University of Rio Grande captured three straight MOC crowns, while the MVNC women's volleyball team has earned the past two titles.

  On Tuesday evening, the two teams met for the first time in conference play this season. The Lady Cougars (14-4, 5-1) took this meeting by the scores of 15-6, 15-10, 15-7. With the victory, MVNC increased its NAIA-record home winning streak to 58 consecutive matches.

  Rio Grande (3-11, 2-4) scored a point to open the first game, but MVNC answered with six straight points behind the serving of Tara Seiter and a kill each from Tammy Custer and Courtny Testa. The two teams traded points to 9-4, and then the Redwomen trimmed the lead to 9-6

  From that point, Testa and Erin Weddington served the Lady Cougars to a 15-6 victory with Testa notching two aces and Weddington adding another.

  MVNC built an early 5-1 lead in the second game behind the blocking of Christa DeLorenzo and the hitting of Rachel Widener. However, Rio Grande stormed back to take a 6-5 lead of their own.

  The Lady Cougars responded with six straight points as DeLorenzo led the way with two kills and two blocks during that span. The Redwomen closed the gap to 11-9, but kills by Widener and Seiter and a block by Custer gave MVNC a 15-10 win.

  After being tied at 2-2 to open the third game, the Lady Cougars rolled off four straight points for a 6-2 lead. Rio Grande battled back to tie the score at 7-7, but MVNC went on to score the final eight points of the game. Seiter recorded three blocks and a kill during the run, while Widener smashed two kills.

  DeLorenzo, Seiter, and Widener all topped the balanced hitting attack with ten kills each, while Custer finished with nine kills. Testa and DeLorenzo led the team with five blocks apiece, and Seiter finished with four blocks. Testa also led the team with two aces, while Weddington, Seiter, and Mandy Metzger each served one ace.

  "I was very pleased with our competitiveness and our consistency tonight," said MVNC head coach Paul Swanson. "We did not have any lulls in this match, and we were finally able to put together all the components of our game because we executed well in the back row."

  "They (Rio Grande) are a good team with a deceiving record," added Swanson. "If we would have gone into any type of funk, they would have given us trouble. But, we put them on the ropes early and kept them there for the rest of the match."

  The Lady Cougars will return to action on Thursday as they travel to Columbus to face MOC foe, Ohio Dominican College.