Volleyball team stung by Kalamazoo in five sets

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College volleyball team won the first two sets 25-22 and 25-23 before Kalamazoo College rallied to win the next three sets, 25-22, 25-20 and 18-16, to sting the Comets in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) match tonight at the Cutler Event Center in Olivet.

Kalamazoo led 4-1 in the first set until Olivet went on a 6-1 scoring run to take a 7-5 lead. The Comets did not give up the lead for the first set, leading it by as many as five points on three occasions. The last time was 23-18. The Hornets responded with four straight points to cut their deficit to one point, 23-22. Two Kalamazoo attack errors handed the set win to Olivet.

The Hornets had a 10-3 lead in the second set before the Comets clawed their way back to tie it for the first time at 12-12. Olivet took the lead for good at 14-13 on a service ace by freshman setter Danielle Bearden (Goodrich).

The Comets' only leads in the third set were 1-0 and 2-1. Kalamazoo scored two straight points to take the lead back and did not relinquish it for the rest of the set, building its biggest lead to eight points at 19-11. Olivet took a 10-7 lead in the fourth set. The Hornets responded with a 7-0 run for a 14-10 lead. The Comets scored four straight points to tie the set at 14-14. A 6-0 spurt gave the lead back to Kalamazoo, 20-14, and was not able to recover.

The deciding set was back-and-forth until Olivet gained a pair of two-point lead at 11-9 and 13-11. Two Comet attack errors squared the set at 13-13. The teams traded points before the Hornets saved an Olivet match point with a kill to force a 16-16 tie. A Kalamazoo kill made the score 17-16 and then a Comet attack error handed the match to the Hornets.

Junior Emma Brann (Ann Arbor/Pioneer) had a team-best .353 hitting percentage with a match-high 16 kills and four errors on 34 attempts. Freshman Cassie Brown (Lansing/Lansing Catholic) and sophomore Marissa Guile (Williamston) each had 10 kills.

Junior Taylor Pringle (Haslett) recorded 24 set assists, while Bearden added 21 assists. Five players reached double figures in the digs column, led by junior Megan VanderVlucht (McBain) and senior Tina Westendorp (Nashville/Maple Valley) with 17 apiece.

Olivet will rest tonight and be right back in action tomorrow morning when it hosts Albion College at 11 a.m.