Olivet loses five-set heartbreaker at Rose-Hulman

TERRA HAUTE, Ind. – The University of Olivet women's volleyball team lost a heartbreaking five-set match to Rose-Hulman tonight for its first match at the Fightin' Engineer Invitational. After losing the first set 25-16, the Comets won the next two sets, 26-24 and 25-19. Rose-Hulman came back to win the fourth set 25-13 before hanging on to win the fifth set, 15-13.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: Rose-Hulman defeated Olivet 25-16, 24-26, 19-25, 25-13, 15-13
• Location: Hulbert Arena; Terra Haute, Indiana
• Records: Olivet 4-2 overall, Rose-Hulman 3-3 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the first set, the Fighting Engineers raced out to a 5-0 lead. The Comets fought back to trim their deficit to one point at 9-8 and 10-9 but they would not get any closer.
• Olivet responded by jumping out to an 11-4 lead in the second set. Rose-Hulman chipped away at the Comet advantage and eventually leveled the score at 24-24. Back-to-back kills by sophomore Julia Hall and senior Abi Nunez ended the set in Olivet's favor.
• The Comets carried the momentum into the third set. Nunez and Hall each had a kill to make the score 2-0, and Olivet did not trail for the entirety of the set.
• Following a 1-1 tie in the fourth set, the Fighting Engineers scored seven of the next eight points to go up 8-2. The Comets were not able to recover from the deficit.
• There were six tied scores to open the fifth set. After the last one at 7-7, Rose-Hulman used a 7-1 run to go up 14-8. Olivet did not go down without a fight as it scored five consecutive points – three kills and two Fighting Engineer errors – to make the score 14-13. A service error handed the set and match to Rose-Hulman.

FOR THE COMETS

• For the match, both teams slammed down 54 kills. The difference in the match was the Fighting Engineers had 10 less attack errors and eight more service aces.
• Three Olivet players reached double figures in kills. Nunez tallied a team-best 15, followed by Hall with 14 and senior Hayleah McFadden with 11.
• Senior Teagan Giannunzio dished out 46 set assists.
• Junior Jaydn Cary contributed a team-best 26 digs, while Nunez had 17 digs.

UP NEXT

• Olivet is staying in Indiana for two matches tomorrow. The Comets play Greenville (Ill.) University at 11 a.m., followed by a match against Trine (Ind.) University.