IU Kokomo ranked No. 11 nationally as tournament begins
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The NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship begins this Saturday, Nov. 23, and the IU Kokomo Cougars are in the thick of it. In fact, they will play host to the Indiana Tech Warriors in the opening round.
The match takes place on the IU Kokomo campus, 2300 S. Washington St., beginning at 1 p.m., and it marks an unusually close meeting between the two teams. They share several connections between the coaching staffs.
Randy Fishman, the director of operations for IU Kokomo volleyball, is the father of Indiana Tech's head coach, Matt, who is a former assistant coach for the Cougars and former Assistant Coach of the Year for them.
IU Kokomo Assistant Coach Audrey Talley, a former Cougars standout player, has a sister on the Warriors' team. And Nyssa Baker, the Warriors' graduate assistant coach, is a former All-American and Player of the Year for IU Kokomo.
“We are thrilled about this match and the chance to advance to the National Tournament to compete for a national title!” said head coach and IU Kokomo Athletic Director Heather Hayes.
This season, IU Kokomo comes into the tournament a bit differently than in recent years. As the defending River States Conference champions, the Cougars entered their conference tournament with a 29-4 record and the No. 1 seed. They prevailed in their two preliminary matches but found difficulty with IU East in the conference championship match.
It was a replay of the previous year's final in all but the outcome. The Red Wolves managed to hold off the Cougars in five sets to win the River States Conference title. The loss was a landmark as it was the end of the Cougars' 47-match winning streak against conference rivals.
For IU Kokomo, Mya Grigsby registered 15 kills over the course of five sets. Cali Cummings and Lexi Broyles added 12 kills each, and Alexis Baney managed 10 kills. When kills are paired with blocks, Broyles led the team with 17.5 points scored. Grigsby and Cummings registered 15.5 points each, and Baney managed 13 points.
Now at 31-5, the Cougars are poised for a deep run in the NAIA tournament. They open with Indiana Tech as one of 24 first round match-ups. The winners will advance to Sioux City, Iowa, for three days of pool play on Dec. 4-6. The top teams from each of the eight pools then advance to the elimination bracket on Dec. 7. The semifinal and final rounds will be held Dec. 9 and 10, respectively.
The Cougars received an automatic bid into the tournament for winning the regular season River States Conference title. This is the team’s 11th appearance in the tournament.
See additional photos from the IU Kokomo conference showdown with IU East, courtesy of Adam Hartsough, on the Lantern’s Facebook page or group.