The Alma College Volleyball team hosted a tri-match on Saturday afternoon at Art Smith Arena with Adrian College and Heidelberg University traveling to mid-Michigan.

In the first match, the Scots took on Adrian in a MIAA contest and defeated the Bulldogs by a score of 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-17, 15-6). The Bulldogs had the Scots on the ropes but the home team was determined and pulled out the comeback victory.

Adrian and Heidelberg University played a non-league match at 1:00 p.m. with the Berg winning by a score of 3-0.

The final match of the day saw Heidelberg defeat Alma 3-1 (25-17, 15-25, 16-25, 22-25) as the Student Princes went 2-0 on the day. The Scots finished the tri-match with a 1-1 record.

"I thought that fatigue played a role both early and late during our matches today," said Alma Head Coach Sarah Dehring. "We got home late last night from Saint Mary's and had a very early turnaround to get ready for this morning's tough match with Adrian.

"But, after a slow start in our first match, I thought we played very well together and hung in there to come back to win in five. I was proud of how the girls rallied and we got a big league win."

Against the Bulldogs, the visitors took the first set 25-22 before Alma tied the match at 1-1 with an identical 25-22 victory in set two. In the third set, the Scots built up a six point lead (11-5) before Adrian went on a 11-4 run to take a 16-15 lead. The Bulldogs parlayed that run into a 25-21 set win and a 2-1 match lead.

Set four saw the teams tied at 13-13 before Alma went on a 12-4 run to win 25-17 and carry momentum into the deciding fifth set. From there, the Scots jumped out to 8-0 and 9-1 leads and were able to coast to the 15-6 set win and the overall 3-2 match victory.

Alma was led by So. OH/DS Sasha Laykova's (Ternopil, Ukraine/Forest Hills Northern) 15 kills and 12 digs, while So. DS/L Molly Lark (Middleville/Thornapple-Kellogg) had a team-best 25 digs. So. S Mary Dulzo (Novi/Mercy) paced the Scots with 48 assists and Fr. RS/S Dakota Pelach (Gaylord/Gaylord) had 11 kills and four digs.

Against Heidelberg, the Scots came out and earned the win in the first set, but the home team would proceed to lose the next three enroute to the 3-1 defeat. Despite the loss to end the day, Dehring saw positives for the squad.

"We played really well in the first set against Heidelberg but I really think we ran out of gas," said Dehring. "I had players who are in excellent shape saying they had no legs, so I know we were tired. But, we got the league win and that is what matters from today. Again, we want to improve our consistency but it was better."

In the final match, Jr. OH/MH Maggie Miller (Frankfort/Frankfort) paced Alma with 11 kills, while Dulzo had 30 assists and 21 digs. Lark added 19 digs and Laykova notched 10 digs. In addition, Pelach and So. MH/OH Madison Smith (Wesphalia-Pewamo-Westphalia) had nine and eight kills respectively.

The Scots next play on Wednesday, when they host Hope College at Art Smith Arena. Match time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with a junior varsity match to follow.