Women’s volleyball team opens MIAA play with three-set win at Kalamazoo

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Olivet College volleyball team opened Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play with a three-set victory over Kalamazoo College tonight inside the Anderson Athletic Center in Kalamazoo.

Final Score: Olivet def. Kalamazoo 27-25, 25-23, 25-23
Location: Anderson Athletic Center; Kalamazoo, Michigan
Records: Olivet 11-3 overall, 1-0 MIAA; Kalamazoo 10-4 overall, 0-1 MIAA

• Both team entered the match with identical 10-3 overall records.
• In the first set, the Hornets led 5-2. Olivet went on a 4-0 run to take its first lead. The teams traded the next 12 points to create six more tied scores. For the rest of the set, neither team led by more than two points and there were nine more ties. With the score knotted the last time at 25-25, kills by freshman Ellie Louiselle and junior Audrey Lama ended the set in the Comets' favor. For the set, 23 of Olivet's 27 points were kills.
• The Comets raced out to a 6-1 lead in the second set. The Hornets fought back and took a pair of two-point leads at 15-13 and 16-14. Olivet countered with a 3-0 run to take a 17-16 lead. Kalamazoo tied the set before both teams went on 2-0 runs for another tie at 19-19. The Comets scored the next point and did not give up the lead for the rest of the set.
• The third set was similar to the first, as neither team led by more than two points early in the set. Holding a one-point advantage, 16-15, Olivet put three straight points on the scoreboard to go up 19-15. The Hornets saved three match points and closed the gap to a single point, 24-23. A Kalamazoo attack error ended the set and match.

• For the match, Olivet totaled 47 kills and posted a .168 attack percentage compared to 36 kills and .074 percentage for Kalamazoo.
• Senior Morgan Champion slammed down a match-best 14 kills.
• Junior Laken Groll was next with 11 kills to go along with five blocks.
• Louiselle and Lama finished with nine and eight kills, respectively.
• Senior Madelyn Notenbaum had a double-double with 41 set assists and 12 digs.
• Senior Gabrielle Mundt tallied a match-high 22 digs.

• Madi Goodman recorded a team-best 10 kills.
• Grace Kraft dished out 30 set assists.
• Taylor Ferguson collected 19 digs.

• Tonight's three-game sweep was the first against a MIAA opponent since Oct. 14, 2015, vs. Alma College.

• Olivet hosts Trine (Ind.) University Friday night. First serve at The Cutler Event Center is at 6:30 p.m.