BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - The Red Wolves found their stride just in time.

The 24th-ranked Indiana University East volleyball team rallied for a 28-26, 21-25, 13-25, 25-20, 16-14 win against No. 7 Grand View University on Sept. 15 on the second day of the Olivet Nazarene University Homestead/Holiday Inn Express Invite.

The match between the Red Wolves (16-0) and the Vikings (12-4) was the NAIA Match of the Week. IU East later capped its 4-0 weekend with a 25-13, 25-16, 25-10 against Robert Morris University (3-12).

IU East previously had not beaten a team ranked better than 12th in the program's NAIA history.

"Find our stride" was the Red Wolves' theme for the weekend, and they found it in time to overcome a two-sets-to-one deficit for the first time since rallying from two sets down to beat Marian University in 2010.

"It was the will to win," said IU East coach Charlie Brown. "It was a total dogfight, and our girls didn't back down. I was worried about how we would respond when the chips got down because we've never played a team ranked that high, but we proved to ourselves that we can play with any team in the country."

Red Wolves freshman outside hitter Mallory Livingston (Union City, Ohio/Mississinawa Valley High School) came up with 19 kills, including a putaway on the Parallax Systems Match Point.

"It's a big milestone for our team," Livingston said. "Some of the girls were teary-eyed after the match.

"Everybody went out there and did what they had to do and did their job well."

IU East overcame a 20-kill, 29-dig performance from Grand View's Devon Jensen and the Vikings' dominance in sets 2 and 3 to stay unbeaten.

"In the huddle between (the third and fourth set), we discussed how we needed to stay focused and encourage each other," Livingston said. "We said, 'These are the moments that change what people think about you. These are the matches you live for.'"

The final set featured eight ties and two lead changes. The largest lead was 13-10 for IU East after a Wetzel Family Auto Cruise Ace by senior libero Kristin Waechter (Muncie, Ind./Daleville High School), who also had a match-high 33 digs.

Grand View tied it at 13 with three quick points, but the once the Red Wolves found their stride, they stayed in front.

"Huge. The biggest win in the history of IU East volleyball," Brown said. "We've definitely got our stride now."

Junior middle hitter Caitlin Burroughs (Richmond, Ind./Northeastern High School) represented IU East on the all-tournament team.

IU East-Grand View box score

IU East-Robert Morris box score

IU East hosts Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents Brescia University and Point Park University on Sept. 22 at Seton Catholic High School. The IU East-Brescia match begins at 10 a.m. The IU East-Point Park match will begin at 2 p.m.