Volleyball team enters season ranked, but struggles with teamwork

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The Indiana University Kokomo Cougars volleyball team is nationally ranked. It boasts a line-up that would be the envy of many larger schools. One might be forgiven for looking past the early match-ups in anticipation of a dominating season.

That’s how a team gets beaten.

But it wasn’t overconfidence that sent the Cougars to a season-opening home loss against Bethel College on Aug. 20. It was unfamiliarity. With many of the players taking the court for IU Kokomo for the first time, the ladies obviously were still getting to know each other. That meant several unforced errors, which led to a five-set loss.

The Cougars opened the match with a 25-20 win in the first set but dropped the next two – 25-17 and 25-15. The frustration was evident on the court and in the stands, where one fan mimicked shooting himself in the foot after yet another mishit buried itself into the net.

Still, IU Kokomo had plenty of fight. The team battled back to take the fourth set, 25-12, showing the dominance that fans have come to expect from the Cougars. Unfortunately, the intensity couldn’t hold.

During the 15-point fifth set, the Cougars nearly swept their way into the win column, but dropped three straight points after threatening at 14-13 to lose 19-17.

There were plenty of individual performances to celebrate despite the loss. Allison Richman led the Cougars with 33 assists. She went on to earn top honors in the River States Conference by being named Setter of the Week.

Similarly, Cali Cummings scored 14 kills against Bethel and went on to earn Defender of the Week in the RSC. She was surpassed in kills on this night, however, by Mya Grigsby with 18. Grigsby also led the Cougars with 15 digs. Ava Rundle managed 11 digs to keep IU Kokomo in the contest.

The Cougars recovered from their opening loss by downing Columbia International and 15th-ranked Aquinas in the opening matches of the Onset Invitational on Aug 22. In the second day of competition at the Onset, IU Kokomo defeated 22nd-ranked Marian College before stumbling against Indiana Tech.

Holding a 3-2 record, the Cougars return to Kokomo Sept. 5-6, hosting their own invitational, which will feature Cumberlands, Campbellsville, Madonna, and IU South Bend.

See additional photos from this contest, courtesy of Adam Hartsough, on the Lantern’s Facebook page or group.