HOLLAND, Mich. – The Earlham College volleyball team fell to Carthage College before taking down Hope College in five sets on Friday evening to open the Hope Tournament.
MATCH ONE: EARLHAM 1 CARTHAGE 3 (25-23, 26-24, 20-25, 25-15)
Caylee Brandes led the offense with 15 kills and a .238 hitting percentage with one block.
Ciara Logan scored double digit kills with 11.
Sadie Mae Calma led the setters with 19 assists and eight kills.
Emma Ledford dished out 17 assists.
Madison Bizjak controlled the back line with a team-high 34 digs.
As a team, the Quakers scored 50 kills with a .103 hitting percentage and three blocks.
After Carthage took a 25-23 win in set one, the Quakers rallied to a 24-22 lead late in set two. The Firebirds then scored four straight points from attack errors to claim the set win.
A 12-3 run gave the Quakers a 21-10 lead in set three. Earlham scored 13 kills in the frame, and hit at a .118 clip. Carthage then held Earlham to a negative hitting percentage in set four, taking a 25-15 win.
MATCH TWO: EARLHAM 3 HOPE 2 (17-25, 25-20, 14-25, 26-24, 15-11)
The Quakers rebounded with a five-set win over the tournament hosts.
Brandes scored a team-high 14 kills, tying with
Addison Piatt. Piatt also had 17 digs with a .227 hitting percentage. Ledford dished out a team-high 21 assists, while Calma tallied 16. Bizjak again led the back row with 25 digs.
The Quakers swung .169 in the second match, totalling 47 kills and six aces.
Hope scored the first eight points of the match, and led set one 14-4 before a 7-1 run by the Quakers. Two 5-0 runs gave Earlham a 14-9 lead in set two, which propelled the Quakers to a 25-20 win after a final kill by
Charish Minor.
Hope got another strong start in set three to lead 10-2. Leading 17-12, the Flying Dutchmen scored six straight points for a 23-12 lead. Tied at 23 in set for, Piatt scored three kills, all assisted by Calma to claim a 25-24 win in the frame and force a final set.
Trailing the tournament hosts 9-8, Earlham went on a 7-2 run with six kills and an ace from the offense to take the match win. Piatt scored five kills in the run, with three assists from Calma.
Earlham will continue the tournament tomorrow with a pair of matches starting at 10 am. Earlham opens the day against Bethel University before ending the weekend against Ohio Northern University at 2 pm.
