Men’s volleyball suffers three-set loss at Lawrence Tech

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The Olivet College men's volleyball team lost in three sets (25-20, 25-19, 31-29) to Lawrence Technological University tonight at the Don Ridler Field House.

Final Score: Lawrence Tech def. Olivet 25-20, 25-19, 31-29
Location: Don Ridler Field House; Southfield, Michigan
Records: Olivet 1-7 overall, Lawrence Tech 3-5 overall

• In the opening set, the Blue Devils led 3-0 before the Comets went on a 6-2 run to take their first lead. From there, neither team led by more than two points until Lawrence Tech seized a three-point advantage at 20-17. Olivet closed the gap to a single point twice at 20-19 and 21-20 but would not get any closer for the rest of the set.
• The second set saw the Comets score the first three points. The Blue Devils chipped away at their deficit and took their first lead at 10-9. The teams traded points to create a pair of tied scores. After the last time at 11-11, Lawrence Tech went on a 7-1 run to go ahead and 18-12. The Blue Devils did not relinquish their advantage for the remainder of the set.
• In the third set, Lawrence Tech took the largest lead for either team at 13-10. Olivet went on an 8-2 run to take its own three-point lead, 18-15. The Comets held the advantage until the Blue Devils leveled the score at 22-22. An Olivet kill followed by two Lawrence Tech kills made the score 24-23. The teams traded the next 13 points, resulting in six more tied scores. With the score knotted one final time at 29-29, two Blue Devil kills ended the set and match in their favor.

• Freshman Aaron Smith had a team-best 12 kills.
• Senior Dan Hayes slammed down nine kills, followed by senior Brock Pringle with eight.
• Hayes had a team-high .333 attack percentage.
• Pringle served two aces.
• Senior Aaron Giorgi posted a team-leading 30 set assists and 10 digs.

• Austin Cinci and Max Jewett each recorded 12 kills.
• Cinci recorded a .647 attack percentage, helping Lawrence Tech post a .309 percentage as a team.
• Joshua Eckert had 10 kills.
• Jacob Paige dished out 40 assists.
• Patrick Newell topped the defense with 12 digs.

• The 60 combined points in the third set is the most in school history for a non-deciding set. The previous high was 56 combined in the first set against Fontbonne (Mo.) University on March 18, 2017, and in the third set against Adrian College on January 9, 2019.

• Olivet is now off until Tuesday, Feb. 18, when it travels to play Siena Heights University at 7:30 p.m.