BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Earlham College volleyball team clinched the HCAC Regular Season Championship with a sweep of Bluffton on Wednesday evening.
Caylee Brandes and
Sadie Mae Calma led the offense with 14 kills each. Brandes swung .296 with a block while Calma hit .333 with 15 assists and three blocks.
Emma Ledford led the setters with 28 assists, and
Addison Piatt led the back row with 17 digs and four aces. Quaker Libero
Madison Bizjak served up five aces.
As a team, the Quakers scored 48 kills with a .311 attack percentage and nine aces.
Earlham hit .833 as a team in the first set, scoring 15 kills with no errors to take a dominant 25-9 win. The momentum continued into set two as the Quakers jumped out to an 18-11 lead en route to a 25-20 set win. After an early lead for the Beavers in set three, Earlham scored an 8-1 run to take the lead. Trailing 21-20, the Quakers rallied to score a 5-1 run for the match win.
At 8-0 in the conference standings, Earlham has clinched the Regular Season Championship, and the No.1 seed in the HCAC Tournament ahead of Saturday's season finale. Earlham will host the No.8 seed on Wednesday evening in Druley Performance Gym, and be set up to host the semifinals and finals next weekend.
The Quakers wrap up the regular season on Saturday at Manchester University. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 pm.
