Volleyball team drops heartbreaking five-set match to Adrian

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College volleyball team dropped a heartbreaking five-match to Adrian College in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) contest this morning at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet. After the Comets won the first set, 25-12, the Bulldogs won the next two sets 25-17 and 25-23. Olivet fought back and won the fourth set 25-17 before Adrian pulled out an 18-16 win in the fifth set.

In the opening set, the Comets never trailed as they had 15 kills and had a .419 hitting percentage. The Bulldogs led the entire second set. Adrian built an 8-3 lead in the third set until Olivet battled back to force an 8-8 tie. The Bulldogs came back and led by four points, 16-12. The Comets answered with a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the set, 17-16.

The teams traded points, causing four tied scores. Olivet then took a 23-21 lead. Adrian scored the final four points of the set to win it, 25-23. The Comets never trailed in the fourth set, as the eight-point margin at the end was their largest lead.

Olivet had a 5-3 lead in the fifth set. After calling a timeout, the Bulldogs put five straight points on the scoreboard to take an 8-5 lead. The Comets battled back and had a two-point lead at 14-12. Two Adrian kills tied the set at 14-14. Olivet went ahead on a kill by senior Marissa Guile before the Bulldogs tied the set one more time 15-15.

Junior Re'Gene Thompson responded with a kill to put the Comets back on top 16-15. Three straight Olivet attack errors handed the win to Adrian.

Despite the loss, the Comets pounded down 71 kills compared to only 57 for the Bulldogs. Olivet also had a higher attack percentage at .231 to .155 for Adrian.

Guile finished the match with 24 kills and a .467 hitting percentage. Thompson recorded 18 kills and six blocks, while sophomore Allison Turner had 15 kills and a .379 attack percentage. Junior Danielle Bearden dished out 63 set assists to go along with 15 digs.

Four others reached double figures in digs. Junior Mona Hinamanu registered a match-high 26 digs, followed by sophomore Courtney Cronkright with 19. Freshman Ashley Lounds and senior Dallas James finished with 13 and 10 digs, respectively.

The Comets will play at Saint Mary's (Ind.) College next Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m.