Women’s volleyball rallies to beat Kalamazoo in four sets

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Olivet College women's volleyball team dropped the first set (25-23) but won the next three sets (25-19, 25-17, 25-21) to defeat Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Kalamazoo College tonight at the Anderson Athletic Center.

Final Score: Olivet defeated Kalamazoo 23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-21
Location: Anderson Athletic Center; Kalamazoo, Michigan
Records: Olivet 8-11 overall, 2-4 MIAA; Kalamazoo 4-16 overall, 0-5 MIAA

• The first set saw the Comets build a four-point lead on four occasions. The Hornets chipped away at their deficit and eventually took their first lead of the set at 13-12. Kalamazoo increased its lead to four points, 16-12. This time, Olivet fought back to level the score at 20-20. The Hornets used a Comet attack error and three kills by Ashley Rill to go up 24-20. Olivet answered with three straight points before a Rill kill ended the set in Kalamazoo's favor.
• The Comets raced out to a 7-1 advantage in the second set. Olivet did not trail for the entire set, leading it by as many as 11 points.
• The third set was like the second set. The Comets scored the first three points and did not relinquish their lead for the remainder of the set. The eight-point margin at the end was Olivet's largest lead.
• Kalamazoo held a 4-2 lead early in the fourth set. The Comets extended their lead to four points, 12-8, before 5-0 Hornet run put them ahead 13-12. Olivet responded with a 6-1 spurt to gain a four-point cushion, 18-14, and force Kalamazoo to call a timeout. The Hornets closed the gap to two points four times but that would be the closest they would get.

• Both teams finished the match with 41 total kills. The difference in the match was Olivet had six less attack errors (19 to 25) and eight more service aces (15 to 8).
• Sophomore Olivia DuFore led the Comets with 14 kills, followed by junior Ellie Louiselle with 11 kills.
• Sophomore Morgan Dillon tallied four solo blocks, tying for the fourth-most since 2003 for a single-match.
• Junior Kennedy Blackburn recorded 23 set assists.
• Senior Drue Mullin was one of four players to reach double digits in digs, as she had a match-high 25.
• Junior Jill Arends had 16 digs, followed by Blackburn (14) and DuFore (12).
• Arends, Mullin and sophomore Emily Keeler each served four aces.

• Rill posted a team-leading 14 kills.
• Ann Lawrence added nine kills.
• Kayla Ridenour and Rorie Daugherty dished out 15 and 13 set assists, respectively.
• Lizzy Rachiele collected a team-best 20 digs.

• Olivet is off until next Tuesday, October 19, when it travels to play Adrian College. First serve from inside the Merillat Center is at 6:30 p.m.