Grand Rapids, Mich. - The Albion Volleyball team ended it's MIAA Championship run falling to Hope 0-3 (33-31, 25-20, 25-10). The Brits ended the season 22-6 (6-2), marking their second straight 6-2 season in the MIAA.
Carly Frank led the Brits with 12 kills, while
Margaret Jones added two blocks.
Paige Williamson added 18 digs and
Molly Edmunds led the team with 22 assists.
Set 1 | Albion 31 Hope 33
Albion came out strong in the opening set, building an early 5-2 advantage. After the teams traded points to begin the match, the Britons took control with three consecutive kills from Cameron Smith, Frank and Emma Pagliarella. Albion continued to build its lead, reaching 9-4 before Hope began to chip away. The Flying Dutch worked their way back into the set, but the Britons maintained their advantage and led 17-12. Hope then put together a five-point run to even the score at 17-17. The teams traded points from there, with neither side able to create much separation. The set featured 17 ties as both teams continued to answer each other's scores.
The Britons held a 23-22 advantage late in the set, but Hope reached set point at 24-23. Pagliarella delivered a kill to tie the score at 24-24 and force extra points. Albion continued to battle, taking a 26-25 lead on a Frank kill and later moving ahead 29-28 on another Pagliarella kill. The teams continued to exchange points, tying the score at 30-30 and again at 31-31. Ava Wilcox recorded a kill to even the set at 31, but Hope answered with a kill from Amelia Gagnon before closing out the set, 33-31.
Set 2 | Albion 20 Hope 25
Albion carried its momentum into the second set, opening with a 2-0 lead. Hope responded to even the score at 2-2, and the teams continued to trade points through the early stages. The Britons regained a one-point advantage at 5-4 and later held an 11-10 lead following a kill from Wilcox. Hope responded with a strong stretch, taking advantage of Albion errors and putting together a run to build a 19-12 advantage. The Britons refused to go away, however, as a series of kills from Wilcox, Pagliarella and Frank helped spark a four-point run. Albion cut the deficit to 19-17 and put pressure on the Flying Dutch. Hope halted the run and extended its lead to 20-17. Albion continued to fight, with Howard recording a kill to make it 22-19, but Hope moved to set point at 24-19. A service error gave the Britons another point before Hope closed out the set with a kill from Kiera Morrison, taking the second set 25-20.
Set 3 | Albion 10 Hope 25
Hope took control early in the third set, using a six-point run to turn a 2-2 tie into an 8-2 advantage. Frank stopped the run with a kill, and the Britons looked to build some momentum, but Hope continued to apply pressure. Albion picked up points from Frank, Pagliarella and Howard, but the Flying Dutch continued to extend their lead. Hope reached a 16-5 advantage before the Britons put together a short response. A kill from Pagliarella and two Hope attack errors brought Albion within 16-8. Hope answered with another run, pushing its lead to 19-8 before continuing toward match point at 24-9. A service error gave Albion one more point, but the Flying Dutch finished the set with a kill from Morrison to secure the 25-10 win and complete the sweep.
Season News and Notes:
- The Brits finished the season with 1239 kills on 3514 attempts for a hitting percentage of .209
- The Brits had 188 service aces
- The Brits had 1633 digs this season
- They had 143 total blocks on the season
- Carly Frank led the team with 315 kills
- Paige Williamson led the team with 37 aces
- She also led the team with 492 digs
- Margaret Jones led the team with 67 total blocks
- Molly Edmunds led the team with 596 assists
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