ALBION, Mich. – Albion College is poised to have a good stretch run to the volleyball season if it can match the effort and energy it displayed at Kresge Gymnasium Friday night.

The Britons played a scrappy brand against Calvin University, the second-ranked team in Division III, but came up a little short in all three sets (25-21, 25-17, 25-23).

Albion held the lead in all three sets.

• Albion scored two in a row – on a Calvin service error and a Shelby Palmer kill – to build a 15-12 lead in the first. A Calvin hitting error moved the Albion lead to 16-13, but Calvin responded with a five-point rally to go in front.
• Albion led 9-4 in the second after a Kelsey Gustafson block and a Chloe Webber service ace. Calvin scored five in a row after a timeout to forge a tie at 9-9. Two Calvin errors and a Kate Winter kill boosted to a 15-13 lead and the Britons continued to lead at 17-15. Grace Kellogg served a pair of aces to help Calvin score the final 10 points of the set.
• Albion scored six of seven points to build an 8-4 lead in the third. The Britons continued to lead, 10-7 on Webber's kill. Three Calvin errors drew Albion even at 17 and the teams traded points down the stretch.

Winter led Albion with eight kills while hitting .261, setter Grace VanDorn completed a double-double with 22 assists and 12 digs and Jenna Khoury collected 15 digs to move into ninth place on Albion's single-season list with 364.

Albion will play Hope College in its final regular season home match at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

For the latest information on the team, follow @AlbionVball on Twitter and Instagram and Albion College Volleyball on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found @gobrits on Twitter, AlbionAthletics on Instagram and on Facebook (facebook.com/AlbionAthletics).

Joe and Julie Serra have given a $5 million leadership gift to launch a fundraising initiative to make two dreams a reality. The first is a newly expanded fitness and student activity facility at the site of the current Dow Recreation and Wellness Center. The second is a new or renovated facility for the volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball teams that currently call Kresge Gymnasium home.

The College is continuing to raise funds in support of both projects. To learn more, call 517/629-0446 or email advancement@albion.edu.