Men’s Volleyball: Olivet loses five-set thrilling match to Adrian

OLIVET, Mich. – The University of Olivet men's volleyball team dropped a thrilling five-set match to Adrian College in a Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League contest this afternoon at the Cutler Event Center. The Bulldogs won the first, third and fifth sets, while the Comets won the second and fourth sets.

• Final Score: Adrian defeated Olivet 29-27, 23-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-8
• Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 5-19 overall, 0-3 MCVL; Adrian 13-9 overall, 1-2 MCVL

• The first set was as close as the final score showed. The Bulldogs took the largest lead for either team at 18-14. The Comets battled back with a 4-1 run to make the score 19-18. The teams traded points until Adrian gained a three-point cushion, 23-20. A kill by senior Quinn Dickerson and two Bulldog attack errors evened the score. Adrian scored the next point before a solo block by Dickerson and a service ace for Dickerson gave the lead to Olivet for the first time at 25-24. A service error tied the score, but senior Deontay Thomas answered with a kill to put the Comets ahead. Another Olivet service error followed by an ace put the Bulldogs back on top 27-26. An Adrian service error leveled the score. Back-to-back Bulldog kills ended the set in their favor.
• The teams went point-for-point to open the second set. After a 6-6 deadlock, the Comets used a 4-1 run to go up three points, 10-7. Olivet continued to hold the lead until Adrian went on a 4-0 scoring spree to turn an 11-9 deficit into a 13-11 lead. The Comets scored the next two points to even the score. Another exchange of points resulted in more tied scores. A kill by Dickerson and a double block at the net by Dickerson and senior Everett Haynes gave the set to Olivet.
• The third set was like the first two sets. The Comets were able to gain a pair of three-point advantages at 12-9 and 14-11. Three Adrian points evened the score until Olivet took a two-point lead, 18-16. From there, the Bulldogs put five straight points on the scoreboard. The Comets fought back to trim their deficit down to a point, 23-22. Two Adrian kills closed out the set.
• In the fourth set, Olivet raced out to a 4-0 lead behind an ace by Thomas and three Bulldog attack errors. The Comets did not trail for the entire set, as they finished it with 15 kills and only two errors on 23 attempts for a .565 attack percentage.
• Early in the fifth set, there were ties at 1-1 and 2-2. After the Bulldogs scored the next two points, a kill by Haynes made the score 4-3. Adrian scored five of the next six points to force an Olivet timeout. The Comets did not recover from the deficit, as the Bulldogs won the set, 15-8.
• For the match, Olivet had one more kill than Adrian. The difference in the match was the Bulldogs had six less attack errors and two more service aces.

• Olivet totaled 55 kills.
• Dickerson shared match-high honors with 18 kills to tie for the third-most in a five-set match in school history.
• Thomas tallied 13 kills, followed by senior Kai Hartman with nine.
• Freshman Tyler Batt recorded seven kills on 11 swings for a .636 hitting percentage.
• Haynes registered 49 set assists to tie for the second-most in a five-set match at Olivet.
• Senior Will Mensching collected 19 digs to break the five-set match school record.

• The Comets host Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) University next Friday, March 22, at 7 p.m.