Volleyball team wins two matches at home tri-match

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College volleyball team won two matches today at its home tri-match inside The Cutler Event Center in Olivet. The Comets started the day with a four-set win over Saint Mary's (Ind.) College in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) match and ended the day with a three-set sweep over Finlandia University in a non-conference match.

Saint Mary's won the first set, 25-14, before the Comets rallied to win the next three sets, 25-22, 25-18 and 25-16. As a team, Olivet recorded 38 kills and seven service aces. In the front row, sophomore Emma Brann (Ann Arbor/Pioneer) led the way with 10 kills. She had only three errors on 21 attempts for a .333 hitting percentage. Freshman Lydia Drikakis (Battle Creek/Lakeview) was next with nine kills, while juniors Stefanie Lang (Valparaiso, Ind.) and Tina Westendorp (Nashville/Maple Valley) each had seven.

Lang topped the team with one solo block and six assisted blocks for four total blocks. Freshman Marissa Guile (Williamston) had five assisted blocks.

Lang and freshman Brooke Stano (Commerce Twp./Walled Lake Northern) served up two aces apiece. Sophomore Taylor Pringle (Haslett) collected 31 of the team's 33 set assists. She also had a team-high 14 digs, followed by Westendorp with 12 and sophomore Megan VanderVlucht (McBain) with 11.

Olivet cruised to an easy 25-12, 25-9 and 25-13 win against Finlandia. The Comets hit .397 with 39 kills and eight errors on 78 attack attempts. Westendorp had a match-high 12 kills, while hitting at a .579 clip. Brann joined her in double figures with 10 kills. Drikakis recorded three service aces. Playing only two sets, Pringle had 19 set assists. Freshman Dallas James (Roscommon) led the way with 11 digs, while VanderVlucht was right behind her with 10.

The Comets will wrap-up their season next week with three MIAA matches in four nights. On Wednesday, Olivet travels to play Albion College. On Friday night, the Comets host Adrian College and they end the week with a match at Kalamazoo College. The first two matches are at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday's match gets under way at 7 p.m.