Volleyball team stunned by Saint Mary’s in five sets

The Olivet College volleyball team went up two sets before Saint Mary’s (Ind.) College won the final three sets to stun the Comets in five sets tonight at the Angela Athletic Center in South Bend, Indiana. Saint Mary’s won by scores of 20-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-23 and 15-10.

Box Score

Team Stats

Volleyball team stunned by Saint Mary’s in five sets
October 15, 2013

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Olivet College volleyball team went up two sets before Saint Mary's (Ind.) College won the final three sets to stun the Comets in five sets tonight at the Angela  Athletic Center in South Bend, Indiana. Saint Mary's won by scores of 20-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-23 and 15-10.

Olivet never trailed in the first set, leading by as many as eight points at 22-14. The Belles led the second set until the Comets took their first lead, 14-13. Saint Mary's got as close as 22-21 before Olivet scored the final three points to win the set.

The Belles led in the early stages of the third set before the Comets went on a 6-0 run to take a 9-4 lead. Saint Mary's chipped away at its deficit and eventually took a 14-13 lead. Olivet was down 20-19 before the Belles put the final five points of the set on the scoreboard.

Saint Mary's took an 8-5 lead in the fourth set. The Comets fought back to gain a 12-11 lead. The teams traded points to force a 13-13 tie. Olivet responded with a 4-0 run to take a 17-13. The Belles scored four of the next five points to knot the score at 18-18. There were four more ties, 19-19, 20-20, 21-21 and 23-23. The Comets then had two attack errors to hand the set to Saint Mary's.

Olivet led the fifth set 2-1 before the Belles scored three straight points for a 4-2 lead. The Belles answered with four consecutive points to regain the lead, 6-4. Saint Mary's came back to take an 8-7 lead and never trailed, again.

Senior Stefanie Lang (Valparaiso, Ind.) pounded down a team-high 16 kills. Junior Emma Brann (Ann Arbor/Pioneer) was next with nine kills. Senior Tina Westendorp (Nashville/Maple Valley) along with freshmen Cassie Brown (Lansing/Lansing Catholic) and Ashlee Roussey (Ortonville/Ortonville-Brandon) each had eight kills.

Junior Taylor Pringle (Haslett) and freshman Danielle Bearden (Goodrich) split time at setter. Pringle finished with a team-high 25 assists, while Bearden had 20. Westendorp topped the defense with 23 digs, and junior Megan VanderVlucht (McBain) had 21.

Olivet (8-15, 5-7 MIAA) hosts Adrian College Friday night at The Cutler Event Center, starting at 6:30 p.m.