UOlivet splits two matches at Grove City Tri

GROVE CITY, Pa. – The University of Olivet men's volleyball team split a pair of matches at Grove City College Tri today inside the GCC Arena. In the first match, the Comets completed a reverse sweep against Mount Aloysius (Pa.) College in five sets. Olivet then fell to the host Wolverines in three sets.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: Olivet defeated Mount Aloysius 19-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-21, 15-12
• Location: Grove City Arena; Grove City, Pennsylvania
• Records: Olivet 1-3 overall, Mount Aloysius 1-4 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Mount Aloysius scored the first two points of the set before Olivet used a 4-1 run to take a 4-3 lead. The Mounties answered with two points to go back on top. After the Comets evened the score at 5-5, Mount Aloysius scored the next two points and held the lead for the rest of the set.
• After giving up the first point of the second set, the Mounties used a 4-0 spurt to take the lead back. Mount Aloysius kept the lead for the remainder of the set.
• Olivet had a wire-to-wire lead in the third set.
• The fourth set was much closer. Down 16-15, the Comets scored the next point. That point sparked a 5-1 run to put Olivet ahead 20-17. The Mounties used three straight kills to level the score at 20-20. The Comets then took advantage of a service error and Mount Aloysius attack followed a kill to go up 23-20. A Mountie kill closed the gap to two points. A bad set followed by an Olivet kill ended the set and forced the deciding set.
• The Comets began the fifth set with two kills and a service ace to go up 3-0. Mount Aloysius used two kills to make the score 3-2 before a service error and two kills pushed Olivet's lead to 6-2. The Mounties fought back to close the gap to a single-point, 9-8, but they would not get any closer for the rest of the set.

FOR THE COMETS

• Freshman Silas Martin slammed down a match-high 22 kills, while posting a .349 attack percentage.
• Sophomores Aiden Chamblee and Amarion Lawson each had eight kills.
• Sophomore Andy Hok recorded 41 set assists.
• Chamblee, Hok and junior Matthew Tollar tallied 10 digs apiece.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Martin's 22 kills breaks the UOlivet five-set match record and is tied for the fourth-most regardless of number of sets played. His 43 attack attempts and 24.5 points are both fourth-most for a five-set match.
• Hok's 41 set assists are seventh-best for a five-set match.
• Olivet has now played 12 five-set matches in UOlivet history and improved to 7-5 all-time in those matches. It was the first reverse sweep in school history.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: Grove City defeated Olivet 25-21, 25-17, 25-12
• Location: Grove City Arena; Grove City, Pennsylvania
• Records: Olivet 1-4 overall, Grove City 2-4 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first set was close throughout as neither team gained an advantage of more than two points until Grove City took a 20-17 lead. The Wolverines went on to win the set, 25-21.
• Grove City led the second set from start to finish.
• The beginning of the third set was like the first set, as there were seven tied scores. Following a 9-9 deadlock, the Wolverines ended set on a 16-3 run.

FOR THE COMETS

• Lawson and Martin each recorded seven kills.
• Hok tallied a team-best 12 set assists and six digs.

UP NEXT

• Olivet welcomes Siena Heights University to the Cutler Event Center on Monday, January 27, for a non-league match, starting at 7 p.m.