By Mitch Blankespoor
ALBION, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College volleyball team left Kresge Gymnasium Tuesday, Oct. 15, with a 25-20, 25-18, 25-16 victory over Albion College. With its win, K improves to 12-11 on the season and 6-5 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play.
"We have been working hard on our service game in practice," Kalamazoo Head Coach Jeanne Hess said. "Everyone stepped up to the line with more confidence."
The Hornet serve earned K eight aces in the match, four of which came from freshman libero Logan Horejsi.
Junior setter Alex Gothard quarterbacked the Hornet offense with 29 assists. Sophomore outside hitter Nya Greenstone tallied 12 kills on the straight set victory. The Ann Arbor native was also one of three Hornets, along with freshmen Horejsi and Kaela Van Til to tally double-digit digs.
In sets one and two, Kalamazoo held slim leads at 19-17 in the first and 20-18 in the second, but used a service runs from Horejsi to close the door. In set three, the Hornets jumped out to a 13-5 lead and never looked back.
Junior middle hitter Kelsey Hill chipped in six kills and a block while senior right side Quinn McCormick added five kills of her own. Sophomore middle hitter Olivia Cares scored four kills while senior outside hitter Jessie Owens tallied three kills in the final set.
"I thought Alex [Gothard] did a great job setting up Kelsey [Hill] and Olivia [Cares] in the first set," Hess said. "It was great to see Jessie [Owens] step in the third set and get some great kills."
Stephanie Thurner led the Britons with 10 kills in defeat.
As a team, Kalamazoo hit a .200 clip for the match while holding Albion to a .112 attacking percentage.
The Hornets return to action Friday, Oct. 18, when K "Digs Pink" in a match against the Alma Scots. Kalamazoo will wear pink uniforms to raise breast cancer awareness.
"We will be playing a great team in Alma while playing for a great cause," Hess said.
The match is scheduled to being at 6:30 p.m.