KOKOMO, Ind. - The Indiana University Kokomo volleyball team opened River States Conference play Thursday evening, sweeping Midway handily to open the conference season on the right note. With the win, the Cougars improve to 10-3 on the season and 1-0 in the RSC.

IU Kokomo dominated from early on, hitting .368 while holding Midway to a .179 hitting percentae in the opening set. Freshman Mia Niekamp was a force early on, tallying eight kills in the opening set. Niekamp finished the match with a match-high and career-high 14 kills. Lexi Broyles added 10 kills while Maggie Connell had six assists and two blocks.

Allison Richman led the Cougs in assists with 22, a season high for the sophomore setter. Kaley Lyons added 15 assists along with eight digs. Alyvia Smith had a team-high 11 digs with three assists. Julia Sanders contributed seven digs and two service-aces. Freshman Cali Cummings and senior Kelsey Hammond each had four blocks to lead the team.

Midway opened the match by winning five of the first eight points before IU Kokomo responded with a 5-0 run to take an 8-5 lead.  The Eagles trailed by one midway through the set but the Cougars then won five of their next six points to lead 17-12 and force a Midway timeout. 

Two Niekamp kills and an Eagle attack error gave IUK a 23-18 lead. After a Midway timeout, the Cougars won each of the next two points to win the opening set 25-18.

The opening set proved to be much closer than the second, as the Cougars led 6-2 early before building the lead to ten at 15-5 with a 5-0 run. Leading by nine, Niekamp & Connell recorded a kill to go along with another Eagle attack error, extending the IUK lead to 12 at 20-8. IU Kokomo went on to win the second set 25-13 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Just as they did in the second set, Heather Hayes's squad opened the set strong and taking a 9-3 lead. Midway took a timeout while trailing 12-5, but IU Kokomo still held an eight point lead at 20-12 late in the set.  The Eagles won some points down the stretch, but the Cougars of IU Kokomo held on to win the third-set 25-19 to clinch the victory in the River States Conference opener.

The Cougars will be back-in-action Friday evening as they welcome IU Southeast to the Student Activities & Events Center for a second RSC match in as many days. First-serve is set for 7:00 PM.

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.