Women’s Volleyball: Olivet drops five-set match to Defiance in home-opener

OLIVET, Mich. – The University of Olivet women's volleyball team began its home schedule with a tough five-set loss to Defiance (Ohio) College tonight inside the Cutler Event Center.

• Final Score: Defiance defeated Olivet 25-22, 12-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-12
• Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 6-2 overall, Defiance 1-8 overall

• In the first set, the Yellow Jackets used a 5-0 run to turn a 4-6 deficit into a 9-6 lead. The Comets fought back and tied the score at 16-16. Defiance scored six of the next seven points to go up 22-17. Olivet came back with a 5-1 run to close the gap to a point at 23-22. Two Yellow Jacket kills ended the set in their favor by a 25-22 score.
• The Comets jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the second set and never looked back. For the set, Olivet had .357 attack percentage, winning it by a 25-12 final.
• Leading in the third set, Olivet scored five straight points (three aces by senior Olivia DuFore, a kill by DuFore and ball handling error). The Comets stretched their advantage to eight points, 16-8. Defiance chipped away at their deficit and eventually went ahead 23-22 and 24-22. A service error saved one set point before an Olivet attack error concluded the set.
• The Yellow Jackets began the fourth set with a 5-0 run. Defiance maintained its lead at 12-8 until the Comets strung together a 5-0 spurt to take their first lead of the set. The teams traded 4-0 runs to keep Olivet ahead by one, 18-17. The Yellow Jackets leveled the score at 18-18 before a 5-0 Comet run made the score 23-18. Olivet held the advantage for the rest of the set and forced the fifth set.
• Defiance went ahead 5-3 in the deciding set. Two aces for junior Madison Johnson and kill for senior Morgan Dillon put Olivet on top, 6-5. The teams traded points to create tied scores at 6-6, 7-7 and 8-8. The Yellow Jackets had a kill and Comet attack error to go up 10-8. Olivet scored the next point, but it would not get any closer.

• For the match, Olivet had 53 kills compared to 49 for Defiance. The difference in the match was the Yellow Jackets had five less attack errors.
• At the net, junior Abi Nunez slammed down 20 kills and recorded a .278 hitting percentage.
• Senior Olivia DuFore also reached double digits with 15 kills and hit at a .205 clip. She served six aces, which is tied for the fifth-most in a five-set match and tied for sixth-most regardless of number of sets since the 2004 season.
• Sophomore Violet Porter had seven kills and seven blocks (two solo and five assisted).
• Junior Teagan Giannunzio dished out 46 set assists.
• Sophomore Jaydn Cary topped the defense with 24 digs.

• Olivet participates in the Sommer Center Spiketacular Friday and Saturday at Bluffton (Ohio) University. On Friday, the Comets face Capital (Ohio) University at 5 p.m., and on Saturday, they play the host Beavers at 10 a.m., followed by a match against Geneva (Pa.) College.