Women’s Volleyball: Olivet sweeps day one at Great Lakes Crossover

SANDUSKY, Ohio – The University of Olivet women's volleyball team swept its two season-opening matches at the Great Lakes Crossover, hosted by Heidelberg (Ohio) University and played inside Sports Force Park. In their first match, the Comets defeated Washington (Md.) College 25-13, 25-22, 25-19. Olivet then beat Shenandoah (Va.) University 25-18, 28-26, 25-20.

• Final Score: Olivet defeated Washington College 25-13, 25-22, 25-19
• Location: Sports Force Park; Sandusky, Ohio
• Records: Olivet 1-0 overall, Washington College 0-1 overall

• After trailing 1-0 in the first set, the Comets used a 6-0 run and 10-0 run to go up 16-2. The Shorewomen closed the gap to 11 points late in the set before Olivet went on to win it, 25-13.
• Washington led 8-5 in the second set. The Comets answered with four straight points to take a 9-8 lead. The Shorewomen went ahead by a point, 13-12. An Olivet kill and three Washington attack errors put the Comets ahead 16-13. The Shorewomen battled back to even the score at 22-22. Olivet scored the last three points on two kills and a setting error.
• Washinton opened the third set by scoring six of the first seven points for a 6-1 lead. The Comets chipped away at their deficit and eventually took their first lead of the set, 9-8. There were three tied scores. After the last one at 11-11, Olivet put six consecutive points on the scoreboard for a 17-11 lead. The Comets maintained the advantage for the remainder of the set.

• For the match, Olivet had 38 kills compared to 20 for Washington.
• Senior Olivia DuFore led the Comets with 10 kills.
• Senior Morgan Dillon and junior Abi Nunez each had nine kills.
• Dillon posted a .316 attack percentage.
• Junior Maddie Reynolds served three aces.
• Junior Teagan Giannunzio dished out a match-best 31 set assists.
• Sophomore Jaydn Cary finished with 12 digs.

• Final Score: Olivet defeated Shenandoah 25-18, 28-26, 25-20
• Location: Sports Force Park; Sandusky, Ohio
• Records: Olivet 2-0 overall, Shenandoah 1-1 overall

• The first set was back and forth, with four tied scores. The Comets went ahead by three points twice. After the second time at 9-6, the Hornets used a 6-1 run for 12-10 lead. Olivet countered with a 3-0 run to take the lead back, 13-12, and did not relinquish it for the rest of the set.
• In the second set, the Comets took a 24-19 lead. Shenandoah fought off five set points to even the score. The teams traded points for 25-25 and 26-26 ties. A Hornet service error followed by an ace handed the set to Olivet.
• The Comets carried the momentum from the end of the second set into the start of the third set, as they raced out to a 9-1 lead. Shenandoah fought back to tie the score at 20-20. Olivet scored the final five points of the set to win the match, 3-0.

• Olivet totaled 43 kills to 27 for the Hornets.
• Nunez led the way with 11 kills, followed by Dillon and DuFore with nine apiece.
• Giannunzio collected 38 set assists.
• Dillon, DuFore and Reynolds each tallied two aces.
• Cary topped the defense with a match-best 14 digs.

• The Comets play two more matches tomorrow in Ohio. At 10 a.m., Olivet plays Mount Aloysius (Pa.) College, followed by a match at 2 p.m. against University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg (Pa.).