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PHOTOS

VIDEO INTERVIEW - LAUREN CRUMP

RICHMOND, Ind. – The Earlham College volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday, falling to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) foe Franklin 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-13), but rebounded to defeat Albion 3-1 (27-25, 26-24, 9-25, 30-28) on Saturday.

In the loss to Franklin, the Grizzlies won set one convincingly, but found themselves in a fight in set two. Earlham trailed 18-10, but a string of five kills from sophomore Kayla Morris along with some Franklin errors got the Quakers within a single point at 24-23. After fight off five set points, Earlham could not tie the set as a kill from Amanda Lelivelt gave the Grizzlies a 25-23 victory.

Freshman Ashleigh Burton and Morris led the offensive charge with 13 and 12 kills respectively. Freshman setter Abigail Sheehan dished out 34 assists.

As a team, Earlham hit a .291 attack percentage, but Franklin hit a blistering .391. The Grizzlies were led by Lelivelt who tallied 13 kills in the contest.

In the victory over Albion, Earlham jumped out to a 20-13 lead in the first set, forcing a Briton timeout. Albion responded well of the timeout, however, forcing three Quaker attack errors along with a service ace and a couple of kills to tie the set 20-20. The teams would trade side outs for 12 points until the Quakers capitalized on their fourth set point as freshman Denisha Mataia served an ace.

In set two, Albion would have the lead at 24-20. Similar to set one, the leading team could not win the decisive set point as three attack errors and a kill from freshman Skylar Muckway tied the set at 24-24. After another Briton attack error, Burton put down a kill from the middle to give the Quakers a two set advantage.

The Britons would win set three going away, but set four would again require extra points. Albion had set points at 24-23, and 25-24, but kills from Morris and Burton mitigated the threat. Earlham would then follow with two match points at 26-25 and 27-26, but a service error and a kill from Jessica Konieczny kept the set going.

Albion's last chance to force a fifth set game at 28-27, but an attack error from Lauren Outwater tied the set once again at 28-28. The Quakers were not to be denied as they avenged an earlier straight-set loss to Albion by forcing two more attack errors and taking the match.

Morris and Burton finished with 19 and 17 kills respectively. Sheehan assisted on 47 kills, an average of nearly 12 assists per set. Four Quakers – freshman Jessica Dammeyer, Mataia, Morris, and freshman Megan Hedinger – finished with double digits in digs.

Albion was led by the trio of Halle Thom, Lauren Outwater, and Stephanie Thurner, who each finished with 10 kills apiece.

Earlham sits at 5-15 on the season and 0-2 in HCAC play. The Quakers have already surpassed their season win total from last season, and return to action on Oct. 7 for a home match against Transylvania. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.