By Nick Morgan, Sports Editor
Volleyball (20-8): In a rematch of last year’s championship match, Asbury’s volleyball team battled top seed IU Kokomo for five sets in the River States Conference Tournament semifinals. The Eagles again fell just short of pulling off the upset as the Cougars won 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 15-7) on Nov. 11. Lizzy Remple recorded a team-high 14 kills and Ashlee Rose had 12. Rachyl Miller had 30 assists and 10 digs and Laura Bird finished with 21 assists and 20 digs. Five Eagles recorded double-digit digs, led by All-RSC First Team selection Bailee Settle with 30. Katie Billman and Alyssa Molden had 14 and 12, respectively. The Eagles finished the season with a 20-8 record, making it the 10 straight seasons that they have finished the year with a winning record.
Cross Country
Women’s: The women’s team placed third out of 12 teams in the RSC Conference Championship with a score of 100, continuing their 10-year streak of top three finishes. Allison Lyon claimed a spot on the All-Conference Second Team and qualified for the NAIA Championship meet with her performance, where she would go on to run the 5K in a time of 19:54, the second fastest time in her career. She finished 206th out of 338 runners and was the 10th fastest finish among River States Conference runners.
Men’s: The men’s team came in sixth out of 12 teams with a score of 161. Justin Spoon led the men with a personal best 29:02.49 in the 8K and placed 21st out of 99 runners.
Soccer
Women’s (14-5-1): The Eagles won their seventh conference championship and first since 2013, defeating the University of Rio Grande 3-0 on Nov. 11. The win clinched AU a spot in the NAIA National Championship, where they would face the two seed Spring Arbor University. Spring Arbor handed Asbury an 8-0 loss, ending the Eagles’ overall exciting season. The Cougars tallied 28 shots with 22 on goal, whereas Asbury had only three shots with two on goal.
Men’s (11-6-1): AU finished its season with an 11-6-1 record after losing to Indiana University East 5-4 in the RSC Tournament quarterfinals on Nov. 4. It was a heartbreaker, as the Red Wolves scored twice in the final eight minutes to steal the victory.
All stats courtesy of Asbury’s athletic website: www.asburyeagles.com