Men’s volleyball team splits home tri-match

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's volleyball team split a non-conference tri-match tonight at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet. The Comets rallied from two sets down to beat Hiram (Ohio) College in five sets before losing to Siena Heights University in three sets.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Olivet def. Hiram 18-25, 16-25, 25-19, 25-16, 15-13
Location: The Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Mich.
Records: Olivet 5-7 overall, Hiram 4-15 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the first set, the Comets led 4-3 until the Terriers went on a 6-0 run to go up 9-4. Hiram did not give up its lead for the rest of the set.
• The Terriers led the second set from the start to the finish.
• Hiram held a three-point lead, 6-3, early in the third set. Olivet responded with a 7-1 run to take a 10-7 lead. The Comets went up by three points one more time, 14-11, before the Terriers scored three straight points to level the score at 14-14. Olivet scored the next point and did not trail for the rest of the set.
• In the fourth set, the Comets used an 8-1 spurt to turn a 2-2 tie into a 10-3 lead. Hiram closed the gap to five points, 12-7, but that would be as close it would get for the rest of the set.
• Olivet led fifth set by an 8-4 score. The Terriers scored six of the next seven points to take a 10-9 lead. There were two tied scores 10-10 and 11-11. The Comets put the next two points on the scoreboard before Hiram scored two straight points to level the score at 13-13. An Olivet kill and Terrier attack error handed the match to the Comets.

FOR THE COMETS

• Olivet had a .082 attack percentage over the first two sets compared to .250 for Hiram.  The Comets turned things around in the final three sets, posting a .339 hitting percentage compared to .014 for Hiram.
• Four Olivet players reached double figures in kills. Sophomore Brock Pringle led the way with 16.
• Sophomore Trent Robinson had 12 kills. Freshman James Baran and senior Rhett Pringle each had 10.
• Robinson finished with five blocks, two solo and three assisted.
• Sophomore Aaron Giorgi recorded a team-leading 29 set assists.
• Rhett Pringle and freshman Tanner Gardenour had seven digs apiece.

FOR THE TERRIERS

• Alex Andrezejewski tallied a team-high 16 kills.
• Jake Lininger collected 32 set assists.
• Cory Fischer led all players with eight digs.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Siena Heights def. Olivet 25-20, 25-15, 25-11
Location: The Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Mich.
Records: Olivet 5-8 overall, Siena Heights 11-4 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Saints held a three-point lead, 11-8, in the first set. The Comets used a 6-0 run to go ahead 14-11. Siena Heights answered with a 12-3 run to take a 23-17 lead. The teams traded the final three points to create the final set score.
• The Saints never trailed in the second and third sets.

FOR THE COMETS

• Robinson led Olivet with seven kills. Brock Pringle and Rhett Pringle each had five kills.
• Giorgi topped the team in set assists (19) and digs (seven).

FOR THE SAINTS

• Kyle Browne finished with a match-high 10 kills.
• Keegan Crawford had 27 set assists.
• Alex Garavalia registered a game-high six digs.

UP NEXT

• The Comets are back in action next Thursday, March 15, when they host Concordia (Wis.) University at 6 p.m.