Volleyball: Olivet lets lead slip away in five-set loss to Adrian

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College volleyball team let a 2-1 lead slip away, as Adrian College rallied to beat the Comets in five sets (15-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 15-12) tonight at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet.

Olivet controlled the first set, with the 10-point final margin being its largest lead. The Comets held a 9-7 lead in the second set before the Bulldogs scored four straight points for an 11-9 advantage. Olivet battled back to tie the set at 11-11 and 12-12 until a 5-0 scoring run gave Adrian the lead back for good.

The third set saw Adrian lead 14-12 until the Comets responded with four straight points to go up 16-14. The Bulldogs closed to within one 24-23 but a service error gave Olivet the set win.

The Comets were up 14-10 in the fourth set before Adrian answered with a 6-0 run to take a 16-14 lead and eventually force a deciding set with a 25-18 win. The Bulldogs put the first four points on the scoreboard in the decisive fifth set. Olivet fought back to tie the set twice at 10-10 and 12-12. Adrian scored the final three points of the match on two kills and a Comet attack into a block ended the match.

Senior Stefanie Lang led Olivet's front row with 23 kills. Junior Marissa Guile had 14 kills, followed by freshman Courtney Cronkright and sophomore Ashlee Roussey with eight each. Sophomore Danielle Bearden recorded 26 set assists, while senior Taylor Pringle had 25. Sophomore Mona Hinamanu paced all players with 24 digs.

The Comets plays their only match next week on Wednesday night at Hope College, starting at 6:30 p.m.