Holland, Mich. - The Alma College volleyball team dropped its Tuesday (Sept. 19) night match 3-0 to No. 20 Hope College. The Scots are now 4-7 overall and 1-3 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association while the Flying Dutch improve to 9-4 and 5-0.

What Happened

• Down 5-1 to start the first set, Alma took a 7-6 lead after kills by Brianna Zimmer (Mt. Pleasant, Mich. / Mt. Pleasant) and Katie Bush (Lowell, Mich. / Lowell) and an ace from Miranda Shafer (Norton Shores, Mich. / Western Michigan Christian/St. Clair County CC). The two teams fought to gain control in the middle of the set until Hope broke free, scoring nine of the final 12 points to win the set 25-17.
• Alma owned the beginning of the second set, posting leads of 3-0, 8-5 and 15-12. Hope would go on a 5-0 run to take a 17-15 lead before the Scots retook the lead at 21-19. Hope scored the next four points from there and, though Alma nearly forced extra points, won the set 25-23.
• The third set began with Alma up 5-2 before the Flying Dutch went on an 8-1 run to take a 10-6 lead. Kills by Bush, Georgia Miller (Georgetown, Ky. / Scott Country) and Dakota Pelach (Gaylord, Mich. / Gaylord) kept Alma close at 17-12, but it was not enough to stop the No. 20 ranked team in Division III from winning the set 25-16.

Notables

• Pelach and Miller each led the team with seven kills. Pelach's hit percentage of .227 was also Alma's best. It is the second time in the last three games Pelach has led the team or tied for the team lead in kills. In addition, Miller had 11 digs, the most on the team.
• Haley Novak (Midland, Mich. / Bullock Creek) posted a team-high 14 assists. It is the third time in the last four games Novak has led the team in that category.
• Alma had five service aces in the match, the second most in its last five games.

What's Next

Alma returns home to host the Albion Britons at Art Smith Arena on Friday, Sept. 22 at 6:30 p.m.

Contact: Zach Russo, Assistant Sports Information Director, (989) 463-7436