ADA, Ohio -- The Albion College women's volleyball team split a pair of five-set battles to close out the Ohio Northern University Invitational on Saturday, earning a win over the host Polar Bears to move to 11-2 on the season.
Match One - Albion 3, Ohio Northern 2 (17-25, 23-25, 25-22, 27-25, 15-10)
The Britons overcame a slow start against the Polar Bears to earn a thrilling 3-2 victory via a reverse sweep in their opening match of the day. The hosts raced out to a 2-0 lead, before Albion found its footing in the third frame. The Brits floored a match-best 19 kills in the set while holding ONU to a .145 attack percentage to take the set, 25-22.
As the Polar Bears looked to sniff out Albion's momentum in the fourth set, Albion roared back with a 5-0 run to knot the set at 24-24.
Carly Frank floored a pair of kills to spur the run. Facing match point at 25-24, the Britons rattled off three consecutive points behind the service of Kaydfa Herrick to take the frame and flip the match on its head. The fifth set saw more of the same, as Albion held the edge in kills (10-6), attack percentage (.276 -.200), and service aces (2-0) en route to a 15-10 win.
Molly Edmunds orchestrated Albion's offense to lead the comeback with a career-best 65 assists. The 65 assists are the most in a five-set match in program history. She added 15 digs and two aces to round out the performance.
Frank set a new career-high with 25 kills to lead the match.
Margaret Jones and
Kayda Herrick added 16 kills apiece. Herrick added a season-best 20 digs.
Paige Williamson finished with a match-best 29 digs.
Match Two - Case Western 3, Albion 2 (25-21, 18-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-12)
Albion challenged Case Western Reserve in its final match of the invitational and came up just short in five-set battle. Not much separated the two sides throughout the match, as each traded set wins throughout, setting up the winner-take-all final frame. Albion stuck close to the Spartans throughout, pulling back within one point at 12-11. Frank added a kill to make it 14-12, but the Britons were unable to hold out as Case Western took the set 15-12.
A trio of Britons finished with double-digit kills, as Frank (21), Herrick (17) and
Bri Whitfield (11) led Albion's attack. Frank's efforts landed her a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Edmunds finished with a match-best 55 assists to bring her season total to 529. Williamson paced both sides with 33 digs, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team beside Frank.
Herrick and
Camille Oxley finished with 14 digs each, while
Ava Wilcox added 13.
Up Next
Albion returns for the first time since hosting the Albion Invitational to open the season on Friday, September 26, for a match against Capital University. The Britons will honor the Class of 2026 prior to the start of the 7 pm tilt.
