RICHMOND – The Earlham College volleyball team fell to Wittenberg University 3-1 in its opening match in Druley Performance Gym of the 2022 season on Tuesday. 

The Quakers dropped to 2-2 on the season. 

Liv Kyrk led the Quaker offense with seven kills and a .222 hitting percentage. The junior from Cardington, Ohio also scored two blocks and had two digs. 

Erin Wagner recorded 25 assists and 11 digs on the evening. Sophomore Akiko Tajima led the back line with 18 digs. 

The Quakers gained an early lead in the first set. As a team, the home squad hit 12 kills for a .139 clip. The Tigers used a 4-0 run to take a 19-18 lead later in the set, but Earlham worked back into the lead for the set win. 

Wittenberg went 5-0 to start set two. The visitors hit 19 kills for a .567 hitting percentage with only two errors in the frame. Later in the set, the Tigers went on a 10-0 run to balloon the lead in the set. 

Despite coming out better in the third set, the Quakers struggled offensively and hit at a -.167. The Tigers used a 5-0 run to take the lead 9-5. 

Earlham regrouped in the fourth and final set to strike at a .15 clip with 10 kills. After leading 11-9, the home squad allowed an 8-1 run by Wittenberg who took a 17-12 lead. The rejuvenated Quaker offense scored seven straight points to close the deficit. Despite the late surge, the Tigers outscored the Quakers 8-3 to end the match. 

Earlham will have a few days off before the Pam Briggs Classic in Columbus, Ohio over the weekend. The Quakers will play two games on the campus of Otterbein University on Friday evening before contesting at Capital University twice on Saturday.