ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College volleyball team wrapped up the 2018 campaign with matches against Hamline University and Bethany Lutheran Saturday afternoon in the Leonard Center. The Scots lost a conference match to Hamline in three sets before dropping a five-set thriller to the Vikings in the final match of the season.

In the first set against Hamline, Macalester fought back to tie the score at 21-21 with an ace by senior setter Emily Bowler (South Salem, N.Y./John Jay). But the Pipers (12-13, 2-9 MIAC) tallied four of the next five points to win, 25-22. Hamline won the second set easily, 25-12, then held off the Scots in the third set for a 25-19 win and the sweep.

Senior outside hitter Nicole Bennington (Shelton, Wash./Olympia) had nine kills and four blocks, while sophomore middle hitter Kendall Ford (Seattle, Wash./The Northwest School) added six kills and three blocks. Bowler finished with 26 assists, and sophomore libero Abrielle Dillon (Brown Deer, Wis./University School of Milwaukee) led the defense with 18 digs. Hamline's Sydney Larson led all players with 11 kills.

Against Bethany Lutheran (11-17), the Scots lost a pair of competitive sets, 25-23 and 25-18 to fall behind 2-0. In the third set, the Vikings built a 21-16 lead and appeared to be headed for the win, but Macalester won the next eight points and nine of the next 10 to extend the match. In the fourth set, Bethany Lutheran had two match points at 24-22, but again the Scots came back to tie the score. The teams went back and forth, with Macalester staving off match point three more times before surviving with a 31-29 victory. The fifth and final set was tied at 12-12 before the Vikings won the match with three straight points, ending the Scots' remarkable comeback attempt.

Senior outside hitter Sofi Ascencio (Oakland, Calif./Holy Names) registered a career-high 17 kills in her final match as a Scot. She also added 11 digs. Bennington closed out her career with 10 kills, with sophomore middle hitter Sofia Parmelee (Tenafly, N.J./Tenafly) contributing nine kills and four blocks. Bowler dished out 42 assists and had nine digs in her finale, while senior outside hitter Gabby Ivy (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs) notched six kills, 19 digs and three blocks in her last match at Macalester. Dillon paced the defense with 22 digs. Megan Rutt had 22 kills to lead Bethany Lutheran.

Macalester (9-19, 0-11 MIAC) will have 11 players back from this year's roster next season.

MAC (0) – 22 12 19
Ham (3) – 25 25 25

MAC (2) – 23 18 25 31 12
BLC (3) – 25 25 22 29 15