Volleyball team defeated by Adrian in four sets

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College volleyball team had its three-match winning streak snapped with a four-set loss to Adrian College tonight inside The Cutler Event Center in Olivet. After losing the first set, 25-20, the Bulldogs rallied to win the next three, 25-15, 25-18 and 25-21.

The Comets led the first set from start-to-finish, building their lead to as many as nine points at 17-8. Adrian battled back to cut its deficit down to three points, 22-19, before Olivet scored three of the final points of the set to win it, 25-20.

With the second set knotted at 6-6, the Bulldogs rattled off four straight points, including the final two on service aces, to take a 10-6 lead. Adrian did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the set en route to a 25-15 win. Like the Comets in the first set, the Bulldogs led the third set from wire-to-wire, building their lead to also as many as nine points, and winning it, 25-18.

Olivet led the fourth set by four points, 7-3. Adrian fought back to tie the match seven times, with the last time being 13-13. From there, the Bulldogs scored the next three points on three Comet attack errors to take a lead they did not give up. Olivet got as close as three points, 21-18 and 22-19.

For the match, the Comets recorded 51 kills on 155 attempts, with 33 errors for a .120 hitting percentage. Junior Stefanie Lang (Valparaiso, Ind.) pounded down a match-high 17 kills. Sophomore Emma Brann (Ann Arbor/Pioneer) and freshman Lydia Drikakis (Battle Creek/Lakeview) each recorded 13 kills. Drikakis hit a team-best .379, with only two errors on 29 attempts.

Sophomore Taylor Pringle (Haslett) collected 47 set assists. In the back row, sophomore Megan VanderVlucht (McBain) topped the team with 15 digs, while Drikakis had 11 digs.

Olivet will end its 2012 season tomorrow night when it travels to play Kalamazoo College at 7 p.m.