By Mitch Blankespoor
ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Kalamazoo College volleyball team dropped two matches on the final day of the 2013 Purple Raider Classic hosted by the University of Mount Union. K fell to Case Western Reserve in four sets by scores of 25-12, 25-18, 27-29, 25-9 and to Wooster in five sets by scores of 20-25, 25-18, 25-13, 22-25, 15-11. Kalamazoo falls to 7-3 on the season.
In the match with Case Western Reserve, Kalamazoo hit for a negative attack percentage in two of the four sets. As a team, K hit a .044 clip for the match. Freshman outside hitter Kaela Van Til and junior middle hitter Kelsey Hill led the Hornets offensively with 11 and 10 kills respectively. Van Til showed her prowess defensively recording 16 digs. Freshman libero Logan Horejsi also dug up 16 Case Western Reserve attack attempts. Junior setter Alex Gothard dished out 30 assists in the four set match.
In the match with the College of Wooster, K hit a blistering .429 clip (13 kills on 28 attack attempts with one attack error) in the first set. The Hornets lost the next two, but won a close fourth set winning 15 of their 25 points on kills.
Using a service run from freshman right side Paige Johnson, Kalamazoo won four of the first six points in the fifth set. Down 4-2, the Fighting Scots went on an 11-3 run. K would cut the 13-7 lead to three points, but could get no closer. A kill from Erica Skillman sealed the match for Wooster.
Sophomore outside hitter Nya Greenstone and Hill led K with 14 and 11 kills respectively. Gothard assisted on 44 Hornet kills.
The most telling stat of the match was team blocks. Wooster totaled 12 team blocks compared to just 3.5 for Kalamazoo.
The Hornets look to bounce back when they travel to Alma Sept. 17 for a 7:00 p.m. match with the Scots.