KOKOMO, Ind. – The Indiana University Kokomo volleyball team split their final pair of matches at Taylor University's Amber McClure Fayerweather Memorial Tournament. The Cougars held their own in falling to #22 Taylor University in five sets and they bounced-back by sweeping Concordia University (Mich.) in their final match of the weekend.

Tenth-year Head Coach Heather Hayes's squad closes out the opening weekend of the 2022 season with a 3-1 record, with their only loss being against a Top 25 team in five sets, on their home court.

Match One Recap

IU Kokomo and #22 Taylor University battled tightly for much of the first set and neither team was able to distance themselves until the point in the match when the Cougars led 20-19. At that point, Taylor went on a 5-0 run to take a 24-20 lead. The Trojans would win the first set 25-21.

Taylor took a 9-4 lead in the second set and forced an IUK timeout, but the Cougars eventually responded. The Cougars battled back and forced a Trojan timeout at 12-10. IUK took their first lead of the set at 17-16 and managed to win it 25-23 to tie the match at one.

IU Kokomo carried their momentum into the third set, opening an early 6-1 lead to force a Taylor timeout. The Cougs hit for a match-high .382 hitting percentage in the third set while holding the Trojans to their worst set-hitting percentage of the match of .148. IU Kokomo dominated, winning the third set 25-15 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Trailing 6-5, Taylor went on a 5-0 run to distance themselves and force an IUK timeout. The Cougars cut a one-time seven-point deficit to three at 16-13 and forced a Taylor timeout. IUK tied the set on multiple occasions but were unable to take a lead as Taylor took the fourth set 25-22 to force a deciding fifth-set.

The final set was neck-and-neck for a majority of the set, but Taylor managed to squeak-out a 15-12 fifth-set win to win the match 3-2.

Sidney Gerig led the Cougs with 16 kills but Audrey Strawsma and Lorelei Porter were close behind with 14 apiece.

The Cougars were led by Kaley Lyons in assists with 32 and Allison Richman followed with 21. Lyons also managed 17 digs, three beind Alyvia Smith's team-high of 20.

Match Two Recap

Just as they did yesterday, IU Kokomo opened their second match of the day against Concordia University (Mich.) on a hot-streak. The Cougs took a 5-0 lead early and managed to lead by as many as seven. Leading 21-17, the Cougs finished the set with a 4-0 spurt to win 25-17.

After Concordia (Mich.) battled and led early in the second, IU Kokomo went on a 6-0 run to take a 14-8 lead. The Cardinals got within two multiple-times in the set including at 23-21, but IU Kokomo won the following two points to take a controlling, two-set lead.

IU Kokomo held Concordia (Mich.) to a match-low hitting percentage of -.031 in the third set as they won it 25-17 to sweep the Cardinals and finish the opening weekend with a record of 3-1.

Kaley Lyons led the Cougs with 15 assists and Allison Richman tallied 13, while leading the team with six kills. Alyvia Smith led the team with 11 digs and freshman Julia Sanders followed with a career-high nine digs.

Audrey Strawsma had a match-high four aces.

The Cougars will return to the court this Friday, September 2, as they are set to play in Bethel University's Liz Hossler Labor Day Classic in Mishawaka, IN.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the IU Kokomo Cougars, fans can visit IUKCougars.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Cougar news by following @IUKAthletics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.