Men’s volleyball team comes up short against Loras

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's volleyball team was defeated by Loras (Iowa) College in three close sets (25-19, 25-22, 25-16) today at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet.

The Comets held a 2-1 lead in the first set until the Duhawks went on a 4-0 run to go up 5-2. Olivet battled back and trailed by one point on five occasions, with the last time being 15-14. Loras would stretch its lead back to four points, 19-15. The Comets cut their deficit to two points, 19-17, before the Duhawks ended the set on a 6-2 scoring spurt. In the set, Olivet had 12 kills with only three errors on 35 attempts for a .257 attack percentage.

The early stages of the second set was close. Loras pulled away in the middle stage, taking a 13-7 lead. The Comets fought back with a 6-1 run to get within one point, 14-13. Olivet would trail by one point one more time, 16-15, but was able to get any closer for the rest of the set. In the second set, the Comets had 12 more kills with five errors on 33 attempts for a .212 hitting percentage.

There were three tied scores at the start of the third set. After the last one, 3-3, the Duhawks put eight consecutive points on the scoreboard for an 11-3 lead. That run was enough to separate the teams, as Loras outscored Olivet 14-13 for the remainder of the set. The Comets posted a negative attack percentage in the set, recording just five kills with seven errors.

As a team, Olivet broke a single-match school record with 29 kills and 27 set assists. The previous mark was 26 kills and 26 set assists vs. Greenville (Ill.) College.

Sophomore Luke Dewitt led the way with 13 kills. He had five errors on 42 attacks for a .190 hitting percentage. Sophomore Rhett Pringle finished with 10 kills and .200 attack percentage. Sophomore Talen Schallhorn dished out 25 set assists and served up two aces. Dewitt also topped the defense with 11 digs.

Olivet returns to the court next Saturday, March 26 when it hosts Trinity Christian (Ill.) College and Adrian College for a triangular. The Comets play Trinity Christian at 10 a.m., followed by Adrian vs. Trinity Christian and then Olivet vs. Adrian to cap the day.