On Friday afternoon, the Alma College volleyball team played two non-league matches and dropped 3-0 decisions to host University of Chicago (22-25, 19-25, 18-25) and Elmhurst College (13-25, 19-25, 18-25). The losses put Alma's 2013 record at 12-13 as they enter the final week of regular season play.

"Going into today, we knew it was going to be a tough afternoon of competition against two nationally ranked teams in their home state," remarked Scots Head Coach Sarah Dehring. "Our goal was to get better with things we struggled with and I believe we did that throughout the day. It was the kind of competition we needed coming into this next week of conference play."

Against the University of Chicago, Alma was paced by Sr. MH Lea Klooster (Jenison/Jenison), who had 15 digs, seven kills, three assists and one blocked shot. Jr. OH/DS Laura Walker (Roscommon/Roscommon) had eight kills and five digs, while Fr. S Mary Dulzo (Novi/Mercy) contributed 11 assists and eight digs.

In addition, Sr. DS/L Jaycee Cole (Alma/Alma) had a team-best 18 digs, while So. OH/DS Hannah Guilford (Hartland/Hartland) had seven kills and Sr. S Erika VanHavel (Mason/Mason) notched eight assists and three digs.

In the second match, Elmhurst improved to 26-4 in the win over the Scots, who were led statistically by Klooster who 16 digs and seven kills. Guilford finished with eight digs, four kills, one blocked shot and two block assists, while Walker notched five kills and five digs. Dulzo recorded 10 assists and eight digs in the loss for Alma.

Alma will host a tri-match this Tuesday afternoon and evening at Art Smith Arena against Olivet College and Finlandia University. The Scots will take on Finlandia in a non-league match at 3:00 p.m. and the Comets in a MIAA tilt at 7:00 p.m. Olivet and Finlandia will also play at 5:00 p.m. in a non-league competition.