Women’s volleyball team splits Friday matches at MIAA Preview Tournament

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Olivet College volleyball team split two matches this evening at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Preview Tournament, played at Calvin College's Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids. In their first match, the Comets fell to Alma College in three sets. In the second match, Olivet lost the first set but rallied to win the next three sets to beat Saint Mary's (Ind.) College.

Final Score: Alma def. Olivet 25-13, 25-19, 25-19
Location: Van Noord Arena; Grand Rapids, Mich.
Records: Olivet 4-1 overall, Alma 5-0 overall

• The Scots led the first two sets from start-to-finish.
• The Comets raced out to a 4-1 lead in the third set. Alma used four straight kills to turn a 9-7 deficit into an 11-9 lead. Olivet scored the next two points to level the score at 11-11. The Scots responded with another 4-0 run and did not give up their advantage for the remainder of the set.

• The difference in the match was Olivet had a .075 attack percentage (28 kills, 21 errors on 93 attempts) compared to .347 attack percentage (43 kills, 8 errors on 101 attempts) for the Scots.
• Freshman Jordyn Emelander and junior Brittney Prince each had eight kills.
• Junior Madelyn Notenbaum dished out 18 set assists.
• Notenbaum and junior Gabrielle Mundt shared the team lead with nine digs apiece.

• Georgia Miller slammed down 11 kills.
• Haley Novak registered a match-high 31 set assists.
• Sara Majerle and Brianna Zimmer each collected nine digs.

Final Score: Olivet def. Saint Mary's 20-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-19
Location: Van Noord Arena; Grand Rapids, Mich.
Records: Olivet 5-1 overall, Saint Mary's 1-2 overall

• Neither team led by more than one point early in the first set. Following an 8-8 tie, the Belles scored four straight points to take control of the set. The Comets would only get as close as two points on two occasions later in the set.
• Olivet opened the second set with a 3-0 run and never trailed for the remainder of it.
• In the third set, the Comets held a 5-4 lead. Olivet scored the next point on a kill and then two Saint Mary's attack errors pushed Olivet's lead to 8-4. The Comets maintained their lead for the rest of the set.
• The only time Olivet was down in the fourth set was 1-0. From there, the Comets scored three consecutive points and were never behind for the rest of the set.

• Olivet finished the match with 60 kills and a .314 attack percentage.
• Prince led all players with 19 kills. She had only three errors on 35 attempts for a .457 hitting percentage.
• Junior Morgan Champion and sophomore Laken Groll also had double digit kills, with 12 and 10, respectively.
• Notenbaum nearly had a triple double with eight kills, 29 set assists and 12 digs.
• Freshman Abigail Pray recorded 23 set assists.
• Mundt topped the team with 16 digs.

• Saint Mary's hit at a .191 clip, with 47 kills.
• Nicole Lukens completed the match with team-highs in kills (15) and digs (19).
• Morgan VanderWey tallied 37 set assists.

• Olivet plays two more matches tomorrow at the MIAA Preview Tournament. The Comets face Trine (Ind.) University at 11 a.m., followed by a match against the host Knights.