Merchant becomes winningest volleyball coach in school history, Olivet wins two matches at IIT Scarlet Hawk Invitational

CHICAGO, Ill. – Olivet College head coach Megan Merchant became the winningest volleyball coach in school history, as the Comets won two matches today at the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawk Invitational and inside the Keating Sports Center in Chicago. The Comets rallied to beat Illinois Tech in four sets before sweeping University of Cincinnati-Clermont (Ohio) in three sets.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Olivet def. Illinois Tech 23-25, 25-12, 25-16, 25-23
Location: Keating Sports Center; Chicago, Ill.
Records: Olivet 7-9 overall, Illinois Tech 6-8 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the first set, Illinois Tech raced out to a 6-0 lead and continued to hold a six-point cushion several more times, with the last time being 18-12. Olivet fought back to tie the set at 19-19, 21-21 and 23-23. Two kills for the Scarlet Hawks ended the set in their favor, 25-23. 
• After a 5-5 tie in the second set, the Comets went on a 6-0 run to go up 11-5. Olivet never trailed for the rest of the set, leading it by as many as 13 points on three occasions. 
• Neither team led by more than two points in the third set until the Comets took an 8-5 lead. Illinois Tech battled back and tied the set four times. Following the last tie at 14-14, Olivet went on a 10-0 scoring run behind the service of freshman Gabrielle Mundt to put the set away. The Comets won the set 25-16. 
• Olivet held the lead in the fourth set before the Scarlet Hawks clawed their way back to tie it six times, with the last time being 19-19. The teams then traded pairs of 2-0 runs to cause 21-21 and 23-23 deadlocks. A block at the net by freshman Brittney Prince and then a kill for Prince ended the set and match.

FOR THE COMETS

• The Comets finished the match with 47 kills, with only 18 attack errors on 120 attempts for a .242 hitting percentage.
• Junior Courtney Cronkright and freshman Madelyn Notenbaum each slammed down 12 kills, hitting at a .320 and .370 clip, respectively.
• Freshman Morgan Champion recorded eight kills, while sophomore Erie McClendon had six.
• At the net, Prince had seven blocks, including three solo. Junior Allison Turner had five blocks.
• Senior Danielle Bearden led the team with 23 set assists, followed by Notenbaum with 14.
• Senior Mona Hinamanu topped the defense with 11 digs to go along with a team-best four service aces.

FOR THE SCARLET HAWKS

• Illinois Tech recorded 45 kills, with 34 attack errors on 134 attempts for a .082 hitting percentage.
• Irena Grauzinis led all players with 15 kills but had a .038 attack percentage.
• Jelena Vujicic was next with 11 kills.
• Courtney Darling dished out a match-best 34 kills.
• Grauzinis and Reya Green had eight digs apiece.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Olivet def. Cincinnati-Clermont 25-9, 25-15, 25-19
Location: Keating Sports Center; Chicago, Ill.
Records: Olivet 8-9 overall, Cincinnati-Clermont 8-10 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Comets scored the first nine points of the opening set and never looked back. Olivet's 16-point margin of victory, 25-9, tied for the biggest lead in the set.
• Clermont started the second set by scoring the first three points before the Comets went on a 9-1 run for a 9-4 advantage. Olivet then doubled its lead, 20-12. The teams traded points for the rest of the set until the Comets won 25-15.
• Olivet was never threatened in the third set, as it led by as many as nine points twice. The last time was 24-15 before the Cougars scored four straight points to trim their deficit down to five points, 24-19. A kill by sophomore Megan Black ended the match.

FOR THE COMETS

• Olivet had a .299 attack percentage behind 40 kills, with just 11 errors on 97 attacks.
• Turner topped the front row with a .480 hitting percentage, as she had 15 kills and three errors on 25 attacks.
• Notenbaum was next with six kills to along with 12 set assists, five digs and two assisted blocks.
• Bearden recorded a match-high 17 set assists.
• Sophomore Ashley Lounds finished with a match-best and a career, single-match high 20 digs.

FOR THE COUGARS         

• UC-Clermont hit .000, collecting 20 kills with 20 errors on 104 attacks.
• Taylor Martin had a team-best 13 kills.
• Ashley Fraley posted team-highs in set assists (nine) and digs (13).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORES

• Today's matches were the first-ever in school history against both Illinois Tech and Cincinnati-Clermont.
• With the wins, Merchant has 44 career coaching wins. Coleen Wendel won 42 matches from 1981-83.
• Turner has reached double figures in kills in five of the last seven matches.
• In the match against Illinois Tech, Hinamanu eclipsed the 1,400 career dig plateau. The all-time leader at Olivet, she now has 1,405 digs
• Prince now has 22 solo blocks to sit in a tie for fifth-place in the Olivet single-season ledger.

UP NEXT                                                                                

• Olivet plays two matches tomorrow afternoon at Illinois Tech. The first one against Eureka (Ill.) College is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, followed by a match against Principia (Ill.) College.