CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The IU Southeast volleyball team got off to a roaring start to open 2025, winning the first two matches of Taylor Wilson-Evanczyk's head coaching career. The Grenadiers dropped just one set on the day, defeating Pikeville in four sets and Spartanburg Methodist in three.
 
IU Southeast jumped in front 13-9 in set one in their opening match, but Pikeville answered with a 6-0 run to take a 15-13 lead. The Grenadiers responded with four points to take a 17-15 lead. The score was tied at 19-19, but IU Southeast scored six of the final seven points to take the first set 25-20.
 
IU Southeast led 14-8 in the second set. Trailing 17-11, Pikeville used an 8-1 run to take a 19-18 lead. Pikeville led 21-20, but the Grenadiers rattled off five straight points to close out the second set with a 25-21 win.
 
The third set was full of runs by both sides. The back-and-forth set saw the teams tied at 17-17. Pikeville took a 24-20 lead, but the Grenadiers fought back once more to cut it to 24-23. Pikeville survived the flurry to take the third set 25-23.
 
IU Southeast scored five straight points in the fourth set to take a 14-12 lead. Pikeville then went on a run of their own to make it 19-15 UPIKE. IU Southeast tied the set at 19-19, but Pikeville jumped ahead 24-21. The Grenadiers once again fought back, tying the set at 24-24. IU Southeast would score the final three points to take the set 28-26 and the match 3-1.
 
Ella Brooks led IU Southeast with 18 kills, and Haley Jaster added 11. Carly Mason led the Grenadiers with five aces and 44 assists. Ella Davidson had a team-high 32 digs, and Madison Ramsey led the team with 5.0 blocks.
 
In match two, IU Southeast dominated set one. They led 9-3 early and would cruise to a 25-14 set one win.
 
Set two was more back-and-forth. It was 16-15 before SMC used a 6-0 run to take a 22-15 lead. Not to be outdone, IU Southeast used a 10-0 run to stun SMC and take the second set 25-22.
 
Set three was more like set one. IU Southeast led by as many as 12 points in the third set and cruised to a 25-13 win, taking the match 3-0.
 
Ella Brooks led IU Southeast with 15 kills. IU Southeast had 12 aces, led by Nicole Stratford with four and Ella Brooks with three. Carly Mason had a team-high 31 assists and 10 digs.
 
IU Southeast starts the season 2-0. The Grenadiers host a scrimmage against Hanover College on Aug. 20. The next regular season contest will be at the Liz Lykowski Memorial Tournament on Sep. 5.