The Alma College Volleyball team is participating in the Carthage (WI) Tournament this weekend and will play four matches in two days. First up for the Scots was St. Norbert College (WI), who defeated Alma by a score of 3-1.

Later this evening, Alma took on the University of Chicago and dropped a 3-0 decision (22-25, 17-25, 22-25) to fall to 6-5 on the 2014 season.

Against St. Norbert, So. S Mary Dulzo (Novi/Mercy) had 36 assists, one blocked shot, two service aces and seven digs, while Jr. OH/DS Hannah Guilford (Hartland/Hartland) had 16 digs, nine kills and one service ace.

So. OH/DS Sasha Laykova (Ternopil, Ukraine/Forest Hills Northern) finished with six kills, seven digs, two service aces and two blocked shots. Sr. OH/DS Laura Walker (East Grand Rapids/East Grand Rapids) contributed 11 digs and Jr. Oh/MH Maggie Miller (Frankfort/Frankfort) had 12 kills. In addition, Fr. RS/S Dakota Pelach (Gaylord/Gaylord) notched 10 kills.

"We deserved to lose the match against St. Norbert," remarked Alma Head Coach Sarah Dehring. "They outplayed us both offensively and defensively and we played flat and lethargic. I felt as though we waited for them to make mistakes instead of us playing to win."

In the game versus Chicago, Dulzo paced the team with 30 assists and had nine digs, while Guilford led the Scots with 17 digs and added nine kills. In addition, Sr. OH Kayla Muxlow (Brown City/Brown City) added eight kills and So. OH/DS Maressa Miller (Grand Blanc/Grand Blanc) contributed five assists and eight digs.

"We played better in the second match but were still tentative and I guess you can say we are playing like a young team," said Dehring. "We had some success early on in the season when we had no expectations and felt no pressure. Now we need to remember what that felt like. We need to play together every contact, every point, every set and every match. If we continue to play safe and dwell on our errors, we will continue to have the same outcome that we had today."

On Saturday, the Scots will play the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and Edgewood at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. respectively.