Women’s Volleyball: Olivet defeats Wooster and Kenyon at MIAA-NCAC Crossover

WOOSTER, Ohio – The University of Olivet women's volleyball team won two matches at the 2023 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association-North Coast Athletic Conference Crossover, hosted by the College of Wooster (Ohio) and played at Timken Gymnasium. In their first match, the Comets rallied to defeat the host Scots in five sets, and in their second match, they beat Kenyon (Ohio) College in four sets.

• Final Score: Olivet defeated Wooster 24-26, 25-13, 23-25, 25-15, 15-10
• Location: Timken Gymnasium; Wooster, Ohio
• Records: Olivet 5-1 overall, Wooster 2-3 overall

• In the opening set, the Scots led by five points, 10-5. The Comets battled back to even the score at 11-11. Wooster took the lead back at 14-12 before a 4-0 Olivet run made the score 16-14. The Scots answered with three straight points, but the Comets responded with another 4-0 run to go ahead 21-17. Olivet led 23-20 until Wooster put four consecutive points on the score board to regain the lead 24-23. The Comets tied the score before two Scot kills ended the set in their favor.
• Other than two early ties at 1-1 and 2-2, Olivet led the majority of the second set. The 12-point margin at the end was the Comets' largest advantage of the set.
• Wooster raced out to a 4-0 lead in the third set. The Scots continued to hold the lead until Olivet took the lead at 14-13. The Comets pushed their advantage to three points, 20-17. Olivet held the lead at 23-22 before the Scots ended the set with a 3-0 run to win it, 25-23.
• The fourth set saw Wooster lead 3-1. The Comets responded with a 6-0 spurt to go up 7-3. Olivet did not relinquish its lead for the rest of the set, winning it by a 25-15 score.
• Olivet and the Scots exchanged the first six points of the fifth set to create three tied scores. Back-to-back kills for the Comets handed them the lead, 5-3. Olivet pushed its advantage to six points at 11-5. The Comets went on to win the set by a 15-10 score.

• Olivet totaled 54 kills compared to 47 for the Scots. The Comets also posted a higher attack percentage, .167 to .071 and served six more aces than Wooster.
• Junior Abi Nunez tallied a match-best 15 kills and .367 hitting percentage.
• Seniors Olivia DuFore and Morgan Dillon also reached double figures in kills with 13 and 11, respectively.
• DuFore served three aces.
• Junior Teagan Giannunzio collected 42 set assists.
• Sophomore Jaydn Cary was one of five players to record double digit digs. She finished with 26, followed by junior Maddie Reynolds (19), DuFore (15), Giannunzio (11) and senior Emily Keeler (11).

• Final Score: Olivet defeated Kenyon 25-20, 27-29, 25-17, 27-25
• Location: Timken Gymnasium; Wooster, Ohio
• Records: Olivet 6-1 overall, Kenyon 2-4 overall

• Down by a 14-12 score in the first set, the Comets went on an 8-1 run to go up, 20-15. Olivet kept the same five-point cushion at the end of the set, winning 25-20.
• The Comets led by seven points on multiple occasions in the second set. After the last time at 22-15, Kenyon came back with a 9-1 spurt for a 24-23 lead. Olivet evened the score four times at 24-24, 25-25, 26-26 and 27-27. The Owls won the set with a kill and block.
• Kenyon seized an 8-6 lead in the third set. Four Comet points put them ahead before two points for the Owls leveled the score at 10-10. From there, Olivet went on an 8-3 run to take control of the set. Kenyon never recovered from the deficit, as the Comets won by a 25-17 score.
• After a 7-7 tie in the fourth set, Olivet put together a 6-1 run for a 13-8 lead. The Lords chipped away at their deficit and took a 23-22 lead. The Comets got to set point to force a Kenyon timeout. The Owls evened the score at 24-24 and 25-25. An overpass kill for Olivet, followed by a Kenyon attack error gave the set and match to the Comets.

• Olivet finished the match with 62 kills, tying for the fourth-most in a four-set match since the 2004 season.
• Dillon and Nunez each had 14 kills and hit a .310 and .345 attack percentage, respectively.
• Junior Hayleah McFadden recorded 11 kills.
• Giannunzio tallied a double-double with 39 set assists and 14 digs.
• Cary registered a match-high 16 digs.

• The Comets welcome Defiance (Ohio) College to the Cutler Event Center next Wednesday, September 13, for its home-opener. The first serve is at 6:30 p.m.