On Friday evening, the Alma College Volleyball team hosted Albion College in a MIAA match at the Art Smith Arena. The Scots defeated the Britons by a score of 3-1 (15-25, 25-17, 25-11 and 25-15) and now have a mark of 8-7 overall and 4-1 in the league. After the loss, Albion stands at 1-13 in 2014 and 0-6 in the MIAA.

"In the first set, we made errors that led to 15 Albion points and to their credit, they took full advantage of our miscues," said Alma Head Coach Sarah Dehring. "Once we kept our mistakes to a minimum, we settled down and played the way we can and the results showed it.

"However, we cannot continue to get behind early in these league contests. The teams are too good and they make you pay for your mistakes. But, we settled down and earned the win and that is the important thing in the end."

In the first set, Albion played very well and put the hometown Scots on their heels from the beginning. The set was tied at 8-8 before the Britons scored six of the next seven points to make it 14-9. It was 16-12 for Albion en route to a 25-15 victory.

The Scots came back to win the second set by a score of 25-17, but it was not easy. Albion jumped out to a 5-1 advantage and then led 12-7 before Alma outscored them 18-5 to even the match at 1-1.

In the third set, the teams were tied at 3-3 and it was still close at 9-5 Alma at one point. However, the Scots then outscored the visitors by a margin of 16-6 from that point on to notch the 25-11 win and took a 2-1 match lead.

The deciding fourth set was tied at 8-8 before the Scots went on a 16-4 run that put the Britons on the brink of defeat. Albion put up a fight though by scoring the next three points before Alma notched the final one and secured the 25-15 set win and the 3-1 match triumph.

Statistically, So. OH/DS Sasha Laykova (Ternopil, Ukraine/Forest Hills Northern) had 12 kills, six digs and two service aces in the win, while So. S Mary Dulzo (Movi/Mercy) recorded a team-high 39 assists.

So. DS/L Molly Lark (Middleville/Thornapple-Kellogg) had a squad-best 14 digs and added three service aces and Jr. OH/MH Maggie Miller (Frankfort/Frankfort) contributed nine kills and five digs. Additionally, Jr. OH/DS Hannah Guilford (Hartland/Hartland) notched nine kills and four digs, while Sr. OH Kayla Muxlow (Brown City/Brown City) had nine kills as well.

The Scots continue play tomorrow in a tri-match at Trine University in Angola, Indiana. At 1:00 p.m., Alma will take on the Thunder and then at 3:00 p.m., they will compete against Defiance College.