SOUTH BEND --- IU South Bend gave No. 19 Viterbo an early test Tuesday night, pushing the nationally ranked V-Hawks throughout the opening set before Viterbo settled in and pulled away for a 25-22, 25-19, 25-7 victory inside the
Student Activities Center.
The Titans played some of their best volleyball of the night in the first frame. After an 8-8 tie, IUSB used kills from Brynn Lake and
Kate Dole along with a Viterbo attack error to build a 12-8 advantage.
Viterbo eventually worked back even, but IU South Bend continued to answer. Kadence Brumitt put the Titans ahead 16-14, Dole later gave IUSB a 17-15 edge and
Alyssa Carson broke a 19-19 tie with a kill.
Emalee Maesch followed with another to give the Titans their final lead at 21-20.
The V-Hawks found their finish from there, scoring five of the final six points to take the opener, 25-22.
The second set tilted Viterbo's way early, but IU South Bend did put together one strong late response. Facing a 24-13 deficit, the Titans rattled off six straight points behind kills from Carson, Brumitt, Lake and Maesch along with a Brumitt ace, trimming the margin all the way to 24-19 before Viterbo finally closed the frame.
IU South Bend totaled 15 kills and hit .237 in the first set, nearly matching Viterbo offensively through the opening frame. The V-Hawks created more separation as the match progressed and ultimately completed the sweep.
Carson led the Titan attack with 10 kills, while Brumitt finished with seven kills on .294 hitting and a match-high 16 digs.
Lake added an efficient all-around performance with four kills on six swings, 17 assists and six digs, while Maesch chipped in five kills and five digs.
IU South Bend will be right back to it on Thursday, hosting Calumet at 7:00 pm inside the SAC.
