Women’s volleyball team upended by No. 5-ranked Calvin

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College women's volleyball team dropped a three-set match to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) leader Calvin University this evening inside the Cutler Event Center. The Knights, ranked No. 5 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, won by scores of 25-18, 25-16 and 25-13.

• Final Score: Calvin defeated Olivet 25-18, 25-16, 25-13
• Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 3-16 overall, 1-4 MIAA; Calvin 16-3 overall, 5-0 MIAA

• In the first set, Calvin built a seven-point lead, 15-8. The Comets fought back and closed the gap to three points, 17-14. The Knights then ended the set on an 8-4 run to win it 25-18. For the set, Olivet had 10 kills with three errors on 24 attempts for a .292 attack percentage.
• The Comets scored the first three points of the second set. Calvin responded with a 7-1 run to take a 7-4 lead. Olivet came right back with a 9-3 run to go up by three points, 13-10, and forced the Knights to call a timeout. Out of the break, Calvin scored six straight points for a 16-13 lead. The Comets used a 3-1 spurt to make the score 17-16. The Knights put the final eight points on the scoreboard to win the set 25-16.
• Neither team led by more than two points early in the third set, resulting in three tied scores at 1-1, 5-5 and 6-6. Holding a one-point lead, Calvin used three straight kills, followed by back-to-back service aces and a kill to push its advantage back to seven points, 14-7. The Comets cut their deficit down to five points on three occasions but never got any closer.

• Against the nationally-ranked Knights, the Comets posted a positive hitting percentage at .049 (21 kills, with 17 errors on 82 attempts).
• Senior Ellie Louiselle and freshman Hannah Pratt each tallied five kills.
• Junior Olivia DuFore and freshman Violet Porter had four kills apiece.
• Senior Kennedy Blackburn recorded 20 set assists.
• Junior Emily Keeler had a match-best 13 digs.
• Senior Jill Arends and sophomore Kayin Harper each served two aces.

• Gabriella Kellogg and Heidi Westra each finished with a match-high 10 kills, helping the Knights post a .330 attack percentage (37 kills, with eight errors on 82 attempts).
• Alyssa DeVries tallied 30 set assists.
• Maria Bos registered 10 digs.

• Before the match, Olivet recognized its five senior volleyball players – Arends, Blackburn, Louiselle, Logan Allen and Lauren Gunter.

• The Comets are idle until next Tuesday, October 18, when they go on the road to play Saint Mary's (Ind.) College. First serve from the Angela Athletic Center is 7 p.m.