IU Columbus’ Sadie Egan digs the ball against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods as the Olivia Embry looks on during Friday’s match at CERA Sports Park in Columbus.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
With every win it manages to put together, the IU Columbus volleyball team keeps making history.
First, the Crimson Pride clinched the first winning season for any Crimson Pride athletic program. Then, they clinched a spot in the River States Conference Tournament for the first time in their three-year history as a volleyball program.
Now, IUC is on the verge of possibly hosting an RSC Tournament game for the first time in school history after knocking off Saint Mary-of-the-Woods 25-15, 25-23, 19-25, 17-25, 18-16 Friday night at Ceraland.
“I’ve been here since Day 1 of this program, and to know that we aren’t only just existing here, we’re making history here at this school,” said Cora Baker, a junior from South Adams. “We’re not even just making history at the school, we’re making history in the conference, as well, as a third-year program. Beating the second team in the conference today just shows how much hard work we’ve been putting in.”
The win was the seventh in a row for the Crimson Pride (20-7, 11-4), who are in third place in the conference. SMWC (29-4, 12-3) is in second place.
“We’ve been working really hard,” IUC coach Jose Olivo said. “Beating the No. 2 in the conference is a big thing for us.”
The top eight teams make the conference tournament, and the top four host first-round games Tuesday. The semifinals and final are Nov. 14-15 at IU Kokomo, which is undefeated in the conference and has wrapped up the No. 1 seed.
“I came in second year knowing that they didn’t have a winning record, but I could see with all the team that was already here and with Jose that this team was going to make so much progress,” said Sadie Egan, a sophomore from Terre Haute North who led the Crimson Pride with 18 kills, 18 digs and three aces and added 17 assists and two blocks.
After IUC took the first two sets, the Pomeroys came back to take the next two. SMWC then led 11-5 in the fifth set before the Crimson Pride got a sideout and five consecutive points with Bailey Stevens at the service line to tie it.
IUC took a 13-12 lead and had match points at 15-14, 16-15 and 17-16 before finally putting it away on a kill by Ruthie Bingham.
“Whenever I came onto the court, I looked at my team and I was like, ‘We are all down right now. We didn’t win those first two sets being quiet and having a frown on our faces,’” said Bingham, a senior from Trinity Lutheran. “We did it because we had the energy, so what we did was, we looked up to our fans, and we asked them to get on their feet and get loud once they started making a few plays.
“Once we put one good ball away, we started to build on that, and Bailey’s serving was phenomenal, and she brought us back into that, and once we got back tied up with them, it was, ‘Game over,’ and we looked at each other in the timeout, and we just said, ‘We worked too hard in the summer and in the offseason to get to this point,’” she added. “Thanks to (sport and performance) coach (David) Granson. He’s pushed us to our limits, and we’re still lifting three days a week, even with being in this point in the season, and we deserved this win.”
So how did the Crimson Pride manage to turn the match around so quickly?
“I honestly just started leaning on my teammates,” Baker said. “Our team is very focused on using every single aspect of the game and every single player in the game, so whenever we started to actually put that into play and use that to our advantage, it really just brought our whole energy up and our whole focus and intensity up.”
“I think we all leaned on each other, and this team has shown such insane drive this year and we just always have the motivation that we’re not giving up, even if it’s the fifth set,” Egan added.
Olivo credited the team’s resilience.
We’ve bounced back so many times,” Olivo said. “They’re full of energy. They got in their heads a little bit in Sets 3 and 4, but we were able to come back. The key to this game was 100 percent the service. We’re serving really well.”
Stevens finished with 28 assists, and Journee Brown had five aces for IUC. Bingham pounded 12 kills, Baker recorded 11 kills and 11 digs, Alyvia Luce contributed two assists, Ava Granson had four blocks, Mikaela Salinas notched 16 digs and two aces and Riley Scroggins served two aces.
“I just hit every ball like it was my last because, like one of my teammates said before the game, you never know when your last game truly is,” Bingham said. “I looked up and said, ‘Just treat every point like it’s your last, and play for the person who started playing this sport. Don’t play for the person that’s playing now. Play for who you were when you started.’”
The Crimson Pride will wrap up the regular season at 1 p.m. Saturday against IU Kokomo. It will be senior day honoring Bingham and Olivia Embry.
“Our whole season this season has been proving a point,” Bingham said. “We were picked No. 10 at (the beginning of) the season, and that was truthfully very incorrect, and we all knew it from the start. But we had to prove ourselves, and we had to show people that we weren’t No. 10 in the conference. I think that we’re doing a very good job of it, and the icing on the cupcake is going to be, ‘Let’s just take Kokomo (Saturday). Let’s carry the energy that we had tonight over into (Saturday) afternoon and take care of business.’ I believe that we can do it. I believe that we can win this game, as well.”
