Men’s Volleyball: Olivet swept in two matches at Lakeland Triangular

PLYMOUTH, Wis. – The University of Olivet men's volleyball team was swept in two non-conference matches at the Lakeland (Wis.) University Triangular, held today at Woltzen Gymnasium. The Comets fell to the host Muskies and Illinois Wesleyan University.

• Final Score: Lakeland defeated Olivet 25-20, 25-21, 25-21
• Location: Woltzen Gymnasium; Plymouth, Wisconsin
• Records: Olivet 2-2 overall, Lakeland 1-2 overall

• In the opening set, the Comets led 6-3 before the Muskies went on a 4-1 run to tie the score. From that point, neither team led by more than two points until late in the set when Lakeland grabbed a 21-18 lead. The Muskies went onto win the set, 25-20.
• The second set was like the first, where Olivet had an early lead, the Muskies came back to take the lead in the middle and pulled away late in the set.
• Lakeland scored the first three points of the third set. The Muskies extended their lead to as many as five points, 12-7. The Comets fought back to close the gap to a single point twice but was never able to tie the score.

• For the match, Olivet recorded 29 kills.
• Senior Quinn Dickerson topped the team with 11 kills, followed by senior Deontay Thomas with six.
• Senior Everett Haynes tallied a team-high in set assists (21) and digs (nine).

• Final Score: Illinois Wesleyan defeated Olivet 25-23, 25-16, 25-23
• Location: Woltzen Gymnasium; Plymouth, Wisconsin
• Records: Olivet 2-3 overall, Illinois Wesleyan 1-0 overall

• The Comets had an early 4-1 lead in the first set. Olivet maintained its advantage until the Titans took their first lead of the set at 18-17. The teams exchanged points to create six tied scores. Following the last one at 23-23, Illinois Wesleyan used a Comet service error and attack error to pull out the 25-23 win.
• The Titans carried the momentum into the second set, as they raced out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back in winning the set, 25-16.
• The beginning of the third set was close, as there were seven tied scores. After the final one at 9-9, the Illinois Wesleyan went on a 6-2 run to take a 15-11 lead. Olivet battled back to trim its deficit down to a point three times, 20-19, 23-22 and 24-23. A Titan kill ended the set and match in their favor.

• For the match, Olivet totaled 32 kills to 33 for Illinois Wesleyan. The differences in the match were the Titans had seven less attack errors and six more service aces.
• Thomas led the Comets with nine kills.
• Dickerson and senior Kai Hartman each had eight kills.
• Dickerson posted a .429 attack percentage.
• Haynes registered a match-best 25 set assists and nine digs.

• The Comets are back in action next Friday, January 26, when they travel to play Lawrence Tech at 7 p.m.