Kalamazoo, MI – Alma College Volleyball was off to Kalamazoo on Tuesday to take on the Hornets of Kalamazoo College in MIAA play. Alma fought until the end, and was rewarded with a 3-2 victory.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair. The teams traded blows and played point-for-point until Alma burst out to a 3 point lead at 15-12. The Scots held the advantage for a stretch, until Kalamazoo came flying back through, and held the set in their grasp at 24-22. Alma caught fire, pushing all the way to 24-24, eventually winning the set 27-25.
The Hornets came out with a vengeance in the second set. The hosts jumped all over Alma, cruising out to a 15-8 advantage, and leading by as much as 12 points in a 25-14 victory.
Alma was able to play point for point once more in the third set. All the way to 12-12 the teams fought once again. However, it was the home side that was able to rip the lead away from Alma with a short run, and didn't look back, winning the set 25-18.
The fourth set was yet another war. Kalamazoo held a narrow edge after Alma took the early lead, as the set dragged on, the Scots were behind, but remained close enough to stay in it. One small shove got things leveled up at 21-21, and another push just moments later saw Alma win the set 25-23.
The Scots fought hard in the final set, but found themselves down 14-11. With things looking bleak, what ensued was a 3-0 run to tie the game at 14-14, followed by a 3-1 burst to finish things off.
Brooke LeRoux led the attacking for Alma with 15 kills, followed by
Sienna Sahr with 11. The leader from the service line was LeRoux, landing 2 aces.
Lexi Dykstra added a career high 43 assists to their season total.
The Scots' defensive efforts were led by
Kolbey Boyd with 30 digs. Also tallying 20 digs was Dykstra. The net presence was headed up by
Ashlyn Michalski with 6 total blocks. Also stepping up was
Madison Munley, who tallied 9 kills and 4 blocks filling in for an injured
Callie Smith in the middle up front.
The win was crucial to the Scots MIAA tournament hopes, as Alma moves to 11-8, 1-3 in MIAA play, and moves on to a home fixture with Calvin on Friday.
