DECATUR, Ill. -- A milestone. A comeback. And a sweep.
Those were the highlights on Saturday as the Albion College volleyball team closed out the Millikin 5 State Classic with a perfect record, taking games from Loras and Simpson. In the Loras match, senior libero
Jenna Khoury reached the 1,000 dig milestone, finishing with a game-high 26 in the match.
GAME ONE: Albion 3 Loras 1
After winning the opening set, 25-19, the Duhakws gritted out a win in set two. From that point on, the Britons would not drop a set for the remainder of the day, taking the final two from Loras by scores of 25-20.
Despite struggling offensively, Albion received an 11-kill, seven block performance from
Chloe Webber. The senior middle swung at a .357 clip for the match. Fellow middle
Jesse Hepner also recorded seven total blocks in the win.
Both
Kaylynne Nicholson (11) and
Olivia Alexander (10) finished with double-digit kill efforts.
Defensively, Khoury led the way with 26 digs -- including the historic 1,000th.
Ava Smith (14),
Kameron Haley (13) and
Grace VanDorn (12) all were key contributors in the back row.
VanDorn tacked on 15 assists while
Mariah Brenz dished out 21.
As a team, the Britons had another incredible day on the block, totaling 15 as a unit.
GAME TWO: Albion 3 Simpson 0
The Brits gritted out a 25-22 win in set one before taking a common ding 25-15 second set from the Storm.
Hoping to extend the match, Simpson came out charging in the third set and took a 22-15 lead. Albion began its comeback rally with Webber back to serve and getting kills from Hepner and Brenz.
A Simpson kill pushed the Storm to a 23-19 advantage before Hepner answered with a kill. The Britons would go on to score six unanswered points, capping off a comeback and a perfect weekend in Illinois.
A pair of blocks down the stretch from Hepner and
Jenna Schienke vaulted the Brits in front before Schienke sent Albion home victorious with a kill from the right side.
VanDorn dished out 14 assists while Khoury tallied 14 digs. Nicholson contributed 11 digs and nine kills for the Brits as Hepner finished with four blocks.
The Brits host St. Mary's on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game. It will serve as Domestic Violence Awareness night, where the Britons will accept donations for S.A.F.E. Place Battle Creek.
