Volleyball team loses in straight sets to Hope 28-26, 25-22, 25-18

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College volleyball team fell to Hope College in straight sets (28-26, 25-22, 25-18) tonight in its home-opener inside The Cutler Event Center in Olivet. The Flying Dutch entered the match tied for fifth in the 2013 American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Preseason poll.

Hope held a 13-7 lead in the opening set before the Comets scored five straight points to trail by one, 13-12. The Flying Dutch was able to push its advantage back to four points, 22-18. Olivet came back with a 4-0 run to tie the set at 22-22. The teams traded points, resulting in ties at 23-23, 24-24, 25-25 and 26-26. A Hope kill and a Comet attack error provided the winning points for the Flying Dutch.

Olivet led 8-5 in the second set. Hope answered with four straight points for a 9-8 lead. After a 9-9 and 10-10 tie, the Flying Dutch put 13 of the next 19 points on the scoreboard to take a 23-16 lead. The Comets responded with a 6-1 run to trail by two, 24-22. A Hope kill ended the set.

Olivet grabbed a 12-11 lead in the third set. Six straight Flying Dutch points gave them a 17-12 lead, which they did not give up for the remainder of the set, winning it 25-18.

As a team, Olivet had a .155 attack percentage with 28 kills and 13 errors on 97 attempts. The Comets also did a great job at the net, recording eight total team blocks to five for Hope. Junior Emma Brann (Ann Arbor/Pioneer) led the team with 13 kills. She had only three attack errors on 29 attempts for a .345 hitting percentage. Senior Stefanie Lang (Valparaiso, Ind.) finished with seven kills with two errors on 14 attempts for a team-best .357 attack percentage.

Freshman Danielle Bearden (Goodrich) topped the setters with 13 assists, while junior Taylor Pringle (Haslett) added 12 assists. Senior Megan VanderVlucht (McBain) led the defense with 11 digs.

The Comets (2-5, 1-1 MIAA) will travel to play No. 2 Calvin College tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m.