Volleyball: Comets come up short in four-set match at Alma

ALMA, Mich. – The Olivet College volleyball team lost a hard-fought four-set match to Alma College tonight at the Art Smith Arena in Alma. After the Scots won the first two sets 25-14 and 25-12, the Comets rallied to win the third set, 26-24. Alma won the match with a thrilling 30-28 fourth-set victory.

The Scots put the first three points on the scoreboard in the first set and never looked back. The 11-point margin at the end of the set equaled their largest lead of the set. The second set was tied at 2-2 before Alma scored four consecutive points to go up 6-2 and never trailed for the remainder of the set.

In the third set, the Scots had a 13-11 lead. The Comets then went on a 5-0 run to surge ahead 16-13. Alma battled back and tied the set on four occasions, with the last time being 24-24. Olivet scored the last two points on a kill from sophomore Ashlee Roussey and a double block by Roussey and sophomore Gabrielle Trudell provided the winning set points.

The Comets led the fourth set 8-2 after a service ace by sophomore Mona Hinamanu. Alma slowly chipped away at its deficit and eventually grabbed a 22-17. The Scots continued to lead and had match point at 24-22. Olivet fought back and tied the set at 24-24 on back-to-back kills by senior Stefanie Lang and freshman Allison Turner. There were four more tied scores, 25-25, 26-26, 27-27 and 28-28. Alma used a Comet service error and a kill by Kendall Sells to win the match.

Lang slammed down a match-high 17 kills. Roussey contributed nine kills. She had three errors on 24 attempts for a team-best .250 hitting percentage. Turner finished with six kills and four blocks. Senior Taylor Pringle recorded team-highs in set assists (29) and digs (15).

Olivet hosts Albion College next Wednesday, Oct. 22. First serve inside The Cutler Event Center is 6:30 p.m.