Volleyball team swept by No. 11 Hope

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College volleyball team was swept in three sets (25-12, 25-15, 25-18) by Hope College tonight at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet. The Flying Dutch are ranked No. 11 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll.

At the start of the first set, neither team had a lead of more than two points. After a kill by junior Re'Gene Thompson knotted the score at 7-7, Hope scored five straight points to go up 12-7. The Comets did not get any closer for the remainder of the set.

The second set was similar to the opening set. There were six tied scores at the beginning of it, with the last time being 7-7. The Flying Dutch put the next two points on the scoreboard to take a 9-7 lead. Olivet scored a point on a kill by sophomore Allison Turner to trail by only one, 9-8. Hope then took control of the match with a 5-1 scoring run. The Flying Dutch scored six of the first seven points of the third set and never looked back.

For the match, the Comets collected 26 kills. Senior Marissa Guile led the way with nine, while Turner and Thompson finished with six and five, respectively. Guile and Thompson each had a solo and an assisted block. Junior Danielle Bearden recorded a team-leading 24 set assists. Junior Mona Hinamanu topped the defense with 13 digs.

The Comets will end their season tomorrow morning with an 11 a.m. home match against Kalamazoo College.