UOlivet suffers two three-set losses at Transylvania Invitational

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Olivet women's volleyball team had a 0-2 record today at the Transylvania University Invitational inside the Clive M. Beck Center. The Comets fell to both Wartburg (Iowa) College and the host Pioneers in three sets.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: Wartburg defeated Olivet 25-16, 25-13, 25-16
• Location: Clive M. Beck Center; Lexington, Kentucky
• Records: Olivet 0-2 overall, Wartburg 2-0 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Olivet tied the first set at 1-1, the Knights took advantage of five Comet miscues and recorded two aces to take an 8-1 lead. Olivet fought back to close the gap to two points, 13-11. Five straight Wartburg kills pushed its lead back to seven points, 18-11. The Comets scored four consecutive points before the Knights ended the set on a 7-1 run to win it by a 25-16 score.
• The teams traded the first eight points of the second set to create a 4-4 deadlock. Wartburg responded with a 15-4 spurt for an 19-8 advantage. The deficit was too much to recover from, as the Knights won the set, 25-13.
• In the third set, Wartburg scored the first four points and never looked back.

FOR THE COMETS

• Olivet recorded 20 kills.
• Freshman Payton Smith topped the team with six kills, followed by junior Julia Hall with four.
• Sophomore Jordyn Smith dished out 12 set assists.
• Junior Kaylee McDaniel finished with a team-high 12 digs.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: Transylvania defeated Olivet 25-15, 25-13, 25-20
• Location: Clive M. Beck Center; Lexington, Kentucky
• Records: Olivet 0-3 overall, Transylvania 2-2 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Transylvania had a wire-to-wire lead in the first and second sets.
• In the third set, the Pioneers held a pair of three-point cushions. The Comets fought back to even the score at 10-10 and 11-11. Three straight Pioneer kills put them ahead and they did not relinquish the lead.

FOR THE COMETS

• Olivet ended the match with 33 kills.
• Smith slammed down a team-best nine kills, followed by freshman Hailey Day (seven), Hall (six) and senior Violet Porter (five).
• Smith registered 15 assists, while junior Grace Grew had 13.
• Grew served three aces.
• Senior Jaydn Cary recorded a match-high 18 digs, followed by McDaniel and sophomore Ashlynn Giannunzio with nine apiece.

UP NEXT

• Olivet travels to Manchester (Ind.) University next Wednesday, September 3. The first serve is at 6:30 p.m. Five of the last six meetings between the Comets and Spartans have been five-set battles.