Volleyball team sweeps Wisconsin Lutheran and Missouri Valley

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Olivet College volleyball team swept two non-conference matches today at the Illinois College Tournament in Jacksonville, Illinois. The Comets started the day with a 25-19, 25-16, 25-14 win over Wisconsin Lutheran College, and then beat Missouri Valley College, 28-26, 25-22, 25-20.

In the first set, Missouri Valley (13-4) took a pair of six-point leads, with the last time being 24-18. Olivet (7-2) then scored six straight points to tie the set at 24-24. After two more tied scores, 25-25 and 26-26, the Comets went ahead 27-26 on a kill by sophomore Courtney Cronkright. Senior Marissa Guile recorded a solo block on a Viking attack for the winning point.

After falling behind 3-0 in the second set, Olivet reeled off four consecutive points to take a 4-3 lead. The Vikings then knotted the score three times at 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6. From that point, the Comets scored eight of the next points to go up 14-7, which was their largest lead of the set.

Missouri Valley got as close as one point on three occasions late in the set, 20-19, 21-20 and 22-21. However, each time, Olivet scored the next point and then a Viking service error provided the 25th point of the set.

Missouri Valley led the third set by six points, 11-5. Olivet slammed down four straight kills and used a Viking attack error to close within one, 11-10. The teams traded points, causing two more tied scores, 12-12 and 13-13.

Two straight kills for freshman Megan Black put the Comets back on top, 15-13. After Missouri Valley scored a point, a 6-0 Olivet run made the score 21-14 for its largest lead of the set. Three kills and a service error were the final four points for the Comets.

For the match, Olivet had a .315 attack percentage as it recorded 43 kills and only nine errors on 108 attack attempts. Junior Re'Gene Thompson was very efficient in her attack, slamming down 19 kills with one error on 25 attempts for a .720 hitting percentage. Guile also did an excellent job, with 12 kills, one error on 33 attempts for a .333 attack percentage. She also had six total blocks.

The Comets recorded seven service aces, including five for junior Danielle Bearden. She also dished out 39 set assists. Junior Mona Hinamanu posted a match-high 20 digs.

Against Wisconsin Lutheran, Thompson and Guile pounded down 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Freshman Erie McClendon led the team with eight total blocks, while Thompson had seven. Bearden added 30 set assists. Hinamanu and senior Dallas James finished with 11 digs apiece.

Olivet continues play in Illinois tomorrow when it faces the host Lady Blues at 11 a.m., followed by a match against Earlham (Ind.) College.