Grenadiers Open 2022 Season With Sweeps Of Tennessee Wesleyan And Point

By Press release submission

Aug 21, 2022

The IU Southeast volleyball team opened the 2022 season on Friday with sweeps of Tennessee Wesleyan and Point (Ga.) at the Vette City Classic.

The Grenadiers (2-0) jumped out to a 13-3 lead in the first set vs Tennessee Wesleyan to open the day's action.

IU Southeast capitalized on four errors by the Bulldogs which helped quickly extend the lead.

After TWU cut the lead to 13-7, an IU Southeast timeout reset the group and the Grenadiers used a 7-3 run to take a 20-10 lead.

After an attack error, a kill by Ella Brooks, followed by a pair of kills by Jessi Kramer extended the lead to 18-10. Alexis Franks had a kill and Lexi Striegel capped off the rally with an ace.

Abi Vogel and Brooks had back-to-back kills to win the first set.

In the second set, IU Southeast led 12-9 after a kill by Kramer. A 9-4 run put the set out of reach. Freshman Abby Ruzanka won the set with a kill at 24-19 after a late rally by the Bulldogs.

The Grenadiers led 12-9 in the third set before five unanswered points by the Grenadiers extended the lead to a comfortable margin once again. Two errors and a kill by freshman Gabby Maher forced match point and an error won the match for IU Southeast.

Jessi Kramer led the Grenadiers with 10 kills, freshman Ella Brooks had seven kills in her first collegiate action, Emilee Organ had six kills and Abigail Vogel and Alexis Franks each added five.

Against Point, the Grenadiers were led by dominant performances by Emilee Organ and Ella Brooks. Organ had 17 kills and Brooks had 12 while Kramer added eight. Cate Murphy had 29 assists and Hannah Brown had 17 in the win.

With IU Southeast leading 11-8 in the first set, the Grenadiers used a 6-1 run to take a 17-9 advantage. An Ella Brooks kill moved the lead to 18-11 and the Grenadiers scored seven of the next 11 points to win the set.

The second set was much closer for the majority of the frame. With the set tied at 15, IU Southeast scored 10 of the final 14 points.

Emilee Organ had three kills and ace to spark the rally.

The Grenadiers led 17-11 in the third set but a Point timeout got the Skyhawks back in the frame. They rallied to cut the deficit to 23-22 and forced four match points before falling.

A kill by Ella Brooks ended the contest.

IU Southeast will face Pikeville and Bethel on Saturday.