Bluffton, Ohio - After a late night the Alma College volleyball team was up bright and early to continue play in the two day Bluffton University spiketacular tournament. First up for the Scots was DePauw University (Ind.) who defeated Alma by a score of 3-2, (27-25, 30-28, 17-25, 26-28, 10-15). The Scots then fell to Ohio Northern University 3-0, (13-25, 16-25, 20-25).

Match One: DePauw University

The first game of the day was a high scoring battle. DePauw saw their first and highest lead of the game at 8-4. A DePauw error followed by a kill from Sr. Hannah Guilford (Hartland, Mich./Hartland) cut the gap 8-6. 

So. Dakota Pelach (Gaylord, Mich./Gaylord) connected with Jr. Sasha Laykova (Ternopil, Ukraine/Forest Hills Northern) for a kill tying the game 9-9.

The lead would change change four times throughout the set. Two consecutive kills from Laykova ended it as the Scots took set one 27-25.

Alma was able to take the second game from the Tigers, 31-28. DePauw tied the game twice but Alma never gave up their lead. The Scots jumped out to an early lead 3-0 lead and never looked back.

Pelach with a kill gave Alma their largest lead of the game at 20-13. DePauw answered with a 6-2 run bringing them back in to striking range. However, a kill from Guilford followed by a DePauw attacking error sealed the second set.

"We played better today against DePauw." stated Head Coach Sarah Dehring. "As a collective team we need to make sure we stay competitive the entire game. We cannot think that we can take plays off"

Alma never saw the lead in set three as they trailed by as much as eight points. Two kills from Guilford almost put the Scots in striking range at 17-23 but it was too late and two unanswered points finished set three. 

Set four saw the Scots trailing the Tigers 9-7. DePauw went on a 5-0 run to increase their lead 14-7. The Scots battled hard and capitalized off of DePauw errors and cut Depauw's lead 17-15. Alma tied the game twice, including at 25 but the Tigers walked away with set four, 28-26.

From there, Alma trailed set five early 2-0. Two DePauw errors and a service ace from Pelach gave Alma the 7-6 lead. DePauw had the final run of the day and took game three from the Scots 15-10.

"We tried a lot of player combinations today," said Dehring. "We still need to find out what lineup works best for us."

Match Two: Ohio Northern University

Pelach notched the first point of the game when she connected with Fr. Maria Feldpausch (White Cloud, Mich./White Cloud) but the Scots would find themselves down 4-1 early in set one.

The Polar Bears strung together eight-straight points to extend the advantage 17-6. Alma answered with a 5-1 run to cut the deficit to seven at 18-11. The Scots would be unable to close the gap, and fell in the first set 25-13.

In the second set, the Scots held close keeping the Polar Bears to only a one point lead. A kill from Sr. Maggie Miller (Frankfort, Mich./Frankfort) tied the game at 7-7. 

Ohio Northern quickly answered with 5-0 stretch to take the 19-13 lead. Alma would be unable to cut the deficit anymore, and fell in set two 25-16.

The Polar bears jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead in set three. Two Ohio Northern errors and a kill from Jr. Madison Smith (Westphalia, Mich./Pewamo-Westphalia) cut the gap 5-4.

It was a battle of a match and midway through the score showed 9-8 when So. Dorothy Buening (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) had a kill from Pelach. Ohio Northern went on a 5-1 run and the Scots were unable to cut the gap again. Ohio Northern would seal the three set match 25-19.

"This is a great opening tournament, it's extremely competitive and what we need," remarked Dehring. "We are still working on things and figuring out what our lineup is going to be."

Pelach received All-Tournament Team for the Bluffton Spiketacular tournament.

Alma ended the Bluffton spiketacular tournament 0-4. The Scots will start MIAA action on Sept. 9 as they travel to Kalmazoo College for a 7:00 p.m. start time. Alma will have their first home debut of the season on Sept. 12 when they host Olivet College in Art Smith Arena at 3:00 p.m.