Volleyball team defeats Saint Mary’s in four sets

NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- The Olivet College volleyball team defeated Saint Mary's (Ind.) College in four sets tonight inside the Angela Athletic Center in Notre Dame, Indiana. After winning the first two sets 25-23 and 25-14, the Comets lost the third set, 25-23. Olivet battled back to win the fourth set 25-22 to win the match. With the win, the Comets even their overall record to 8-8.

For the match, Olivet hit .143 with 51 kills. Junior Jordy Bergeron (Muskegon/Mona Shores) and sophomore Melanie Merchant (St. Joseph) led the way with 11 kills apiece. Sophomore Sam Gibson (Battle Creek/Harper Creek) and senior Ellen Schulz (Freeland) each had nine kills. Sophomore Ashley Grimes (Concord) posted eight kills with zero attack errors on 13 attempts for a .615 hitting percentage.

Senior setter Jenessa Hicks (Union City) recorded a team-leading 32 assists to go along with 15 digs. Defensively, senior libero Morgan Iloncaie (Port Huron/Imlay City) finished with a team-high 26 digs. Freshman Kaitlyn Salhaney (Caledonia/East Kentwood) had double figures in assists (10) and digs (11).

The Comets will participate in the Davenport University Panther Invitational on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, Olivet will play Mich.-Dearborn at 5 p.m. and the host Panthers at 7 p.m. The match times for Saturday's two matches are based on Friday's results.