Volleyball team ends season with three-set loss to No. 13 Hope

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College volleyball team closed out the 2019 season with a three-set loss (25-8, 25-10, 25-20) to nationally-ranked Hope College this morning at the Cutler Event Center in Olivet.

Final Score: Hope def. Olivet 25-8, 25-10, 25-20
Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
Records: Olivet 14-12 overall, 2-6 MIAA; Hope 21-6 overall, 7-0 MIAA

• The Flying Dutch scored the first point of the opening set and never looked back.
• OIivet held a 2-1 lead in the second set before Hope went on a 4-0 run to take a 5-2 lead. The Flying Dutch did not relinquish its lead for the rest of the set.
• The Comets led by three points on three occasions in the third set. After the last time at 17-14, Hope went on a 5-0 scoring spurt to go ahead 19-17. Olivet closed the gap to a single point three times at 19-18, 20-19 and 21-20. From there, the Flying Dutch scored the final four points of the set.

• Olivet finished the match with 22 kills.
• Senior Morgan Champion had a team-best six kills, followed by junior Audrey Lama with five.
• The Comets used three setters in the match, as senior Madelyn Notenbaum tallied a team-best eight assists.
• Senior Gabrielle Mundt led the back row with 17 digs.

• Hope, ranked No. 13 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll, received a match-high nine kills from McKenna Otto.
• Rose Thompson had seven kills.
• Adair Cutler recorded 14 set assists, followed by Tracy Westra with 12.
• Ana Grunewald tallied 12 digs, followed by Gabbi Vachon and Sasha Poland with 11 each.

• Olivet finishes the season with a 14-12 overall record for only the second winning season in school history.
• The 14 wins matches the 2015 and 2018 teams for the second-most wins in a season.
• Prior to the match, the Comets recognized their five seniors – Champion, Mundt, Notenbaum, Kyleigh Cross and Morgan Schneider – who were playing in their final collegiate match. These seniors have helped Olivet win 49 matches over the last four seasons.
• Notenbaum finishes her career ranked among the all-time leaders in set assists (fourth, 2543), service aces (second, 113), digs (fourth, 1203), matches played (tied for fourth, 113), sets played (second, 412) and attack percentage (ninth, .152).
• Mundt ends her career third all-time with 1,482 digs.
• Champion is Olivet's all-time leader with 985 kills and 3,345 attack attempts, tied for fourth with 113 matches played, seventh with 401 sets played and 11th with a .141 attack percentage.