By Mitch Blankespoor
OLIVET, Mich. – Down two sets to none on the road at Olivet, the Kalamazoo College volleyball team was one set away from leaving the Cutler Athletic Center with a fifth straight loss. This match, however, the Hornets refused to lose. Kalamazoo roared back to win the next three sets en route to a thrilling five-set victory by scores of 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 18-16.
"I saw the Hornet heart tonight," Kalamazoo Head Coach Jeanne Hess said. "We battled, fought, and clawed our way to victory."
The first set was tied at 11 until the Comets went on a 10-5 run using a service fueled by Olivet setter Taylor Pringle. Kalamazoo would cut the lead to a single point at 23-22 on a service error from junior setter Alex Gothard. Two consecutive attack errors from sophomore outside hitter Nya Greenstone sealed the set for Olivet.
Kalamazoo took an early 6-1 lead on a service run from Greenstone in set two. Olivet answered with a 12-7 run to tie the set at 13. Teams traded side outs until the set was tied at 20. Three Comet kills and a K service error gave Olivet a 24-22 lead. A kill from Kalamazoo freshman Kaela Van Til fought off on set point, but an Olivet block put the Comets a set from victory.
Kalamazoo lost the opening point of the third set, but took a lead 3-2 on a Comet attack error. The Hornets extended their lead to 16-10 on a kill from middle hitter Olivia Cares and coasted to a third set victory.
In set four, neither team led by more than four points until a Van Til kill gave K a 19-14 lead. Olivet would trim the deficit to two points at 22-20, but could get no closer. A kill from Gothard and service ace from Van Til pushed the match to a decisive fifth set.
A kill from senior outside hitter Brittany Amor gave K the first point of the fifth set. Later on, the Hornets would lead 5-3 until Olivet tied the set at six on a kill from Stephanie Lang. After trading side outs for six points, consecutive kills would give the Comets an 11-9 advantage. After a timeout from Hess, K would win the next two points to tie the set at 11, but surrender the following two points.
After another Hornet timeout, K earned its first match point by forcing an attack error from Lydia Drikakis. The Comets would fight off the match point blocking a Van Til swing, and earn a match point of their own when an attack attempt from Kalamazoo junior middle hitter Kelsey Hill sailed wide.
On match point, Olivet failed to serve the ball in play, and the two Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) members were tied at 15 apiece. Marissa Guile gave Olivet its second match point with a kill, but Gothard responded with a kill of her own to tie the set once again. At 16-16, an Amor attack attempt found the floor and the Hornet front row forced an attack error from Cassie Brown to seal the match.
"This match was a huge win for us," said Hess in a post-game interview.
Gothard ran the Hornet offense to perfection dishing out 47 assists while recording 16 digs, five service aces to go along with five kills.
"This was one of Alex [Gothard]'s best matches of the season," said Hess. "She distributed the ball to our front row, and really connected with Quinn [McCormick] on the right side."
Senior right side Quinn McCormick tallied 10 kills on 32 attack attempts while also recording five block assists. Hill and Cares both killed seven balls and also recorded five block assists. Van Til and Amor both reached double-digit kills with 14 and 11 respectively.
"Brittany [Amor] stepped up in a big match," Hess said. "She was go-to on the left side."
For the third time in her young career, freshman Logan Horejsi tallied over 30 digs with 31 against the Comets.
Emma Brann led the Comets in defeat hitting a .353 clip recording 16 kills.
Kalamazoo snaps a four-game losing streak and improves its record to 8-4 on the season and 4-1 in the MIAA. The Hornets return to action tomorrow, Sept. 21, when they travel to Hershey Hall on the campus of Trine University for an 11:00 a.m. match with the Thunder.