Women’s volleyball team splits Friday matches at Illinois College Tournament

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Olivet College volleyball team split two matches this evening at the Illinois College Tournament inside Sherman Gymnasium in Jacksonville, Illinois. The Comets rallied to beat Concordia University-Chicago (Ill.) in four sets and were swept by the host Lady Blues in three sets.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Olivet def. Concordia-Chicago 22-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-15
Location: Sherman Gymnasium; Jacksonville, Illinois
Records: Olivet 3-7 overall, Concordia 10-3 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• With the score even at 12-12 in the first set, the Cougars scored four consecutive points to go up 16-12. The Comets battled back and cut their deficit down to two points, 24-22, forcing Concordia to call a timeout. Following the timeout, an Olivet service error ended the set.
• In the second set, the Comets turned a 1-1 score into a 7-1 lead with six straight points. Olivet's 11-point advantage at the end of the set was its largest lead.
• Early in the third set, there were five tied scores. After the last time at 10-10, the Comets put four straight points up on the scoreboard to gain the largest lead for either team. Olivet did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the set.
• The Comets scored six of the first seven points of the fourth set, and never looked back.

FOR THE COMETS

• Olivet finished the match with 45 kills compared to 29 for the Cougars. The Comets also hit at a higher percentage, .154 to .016, and served eight more aces, 11 to 3.
• Senior Courtney Cronkright led a balanced Olivet front row attack with 10 kills.
• Sophomores Madelyn Notenbaum and Morgan Champion each had nine kills, while sophomore Brittney Prince recorded eight kills and a team-leading five blocks.
• Cronkright also posted team-highs in aces (four) and digs (15).
• Notenbaum and freshman Brittany Matsumoto split time at the setter position, collecting 19 and 15 assists, respectively.
• Notenbaum and sophomore libero Gabrielle Mundt had 13 digs apiece, while Matsumoto had 10.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Illinois College def. Olivet 26-24, 25-21, 25-21
Location: Sherman Gymnasium; Jacksonville, Illinois
Records: Olivet 3-8 overall, Illinois College 4-7 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Comets raced out to a 9-3 lead in the opening set. Olivet extended its lead to nine points three times, with the last time being 19-10. The Lady Blues fought back to tie the set at 22-22, 23-23 and 24-24 before getting two kills to end the set in their favor.
• In the second set, neither team led by more than two points until the Comets pulled ahead by three, 16-13. Illinois College took the lead back with five straight points, 18-16. The Lady Blues maintained their lead for the rest of the set.
• Illinois College held a two-point lead, 7-5, in the third set. Olivet came back to take its own two-point lead, 12-10, 13-11 and 14-12. The Lady Blues responded with three consecutive points to go back on top, 15-14. Illinois College stretched its lead to three points 22-19. The Comets closed the gap to a single point, 22-21, before the Lady Blues scored the final three points for the three-set victory.

FOR THE COMETS

• For the match, Olivet totaled 43 kills.
• Champion led the way with 13 kills, followed by Cronkright and Prince with 11 apiece.
• Notenbaum tallied a team-best 30 set assists.
• Mundt posted a match-leading 23 digs.

UP NEXT

• Olivet plays Principia (Ill.) College tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. CST, followed by a match against Grinnell (Iowa) College.