RICHMOND, Ind. – The Albion volleyball team, fresh off another week receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, earned a pair of impressive victories on Saturday over Manchester University and Earlham College.
Match One - Albion 3, Manchester 0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-22)
The Britons rolled in their first match of the day against the Spartans of Manchester. Albion hit at a blistering .345 clip as a team as it cruised past its non-conference foe in straight sets. The Brits held the advantage in every facet of the match, highlighted by a 39-30 edge in kills and a 44-31 edge in digs.
After taking the first two sets, Manchester pushed the Brits in the third frame. After some early back and forth, the Spartans snuck ahead, 16-15. Albion rallied to score six of the next nine
points, punctuated by a kill from
Kayda Herrick.
The Brits never relinquished their lead from there, as a trio of late kills from
Carly Frank sealed the set 25-22, and the match.
Offensively, Frank led the charge for Albion with a match-best 15 kills. Herrick added eight kills and three blocks, while
Margaret Jones chipped in five kills and two blocks.
Molly Edmunds tallied a match-high 28 assists and
Paige Williamson paced the two teams with 10 digs.
Emma Pagliarella tossed up a match-best five blocks.
Match Two - Albion 3, Earlham 2 (20-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23, 16-14)
Albion faced adversity in its second match of the day, as hosts Earlham stole the first two sets by scores of 25-20, 25-16.
The Brits rallied in the third set with 15 kills and a .222 attack percentage. The teams traded blows throughout the set, but Albion opened a five point lead after a service ace from
Ava Wilcox made it 17-12. The Quakers pulled back within two points at 21-19, but a kill from
Bri Whitfield squashed any momentum Earlham was building as Albion earned a 25-22 win.
Albion continued to battle in the fourth set. After building a 19-13 lead, Earlham battled back and cut the edge to 23-22. Herrick halted the run with a kill and a block from Jones set up a decisive fifth set.
Earlham jumped ahead in the final frame, 14-12. Despite the barrage, the Britons tallied four consecutive points to seal the 16-14 win and complete the reverse sweep.
Herrick lead the way with a massive, 20-kill, 12-dig double-double. Frank finished with 19 kills, while Whitfield posted 9 kills and 10 digs.
Six Brits finished with double-digs, headlined by Williamson. The junior registered a match-high 23, while Edmunds and
Camille Oxley added 16 and 15, respectively. Edmunds added a match-leading 55 assists, her fourth outing with more than 50 assists this season.
Up Next
Albion returns home to host Calvin University on Friday, October 31 at 6:30 pm.
