ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College volleyball team started its invitational with two victories Friday in the Leonard Center. The Scots evened their record on the season at 6-6 with a five-set win over Beloit and a sweep of Trinity Bible.

In the day's first match, Macalester spotted Beloit a two-set lead before mounting a comeback and taking the next two sets, 25-19 and 25-20. In the decisive fifth set, neither team led by more than two points. The Buccaneers had match point twice, but the Scots were able to get the next point and extend the match. With the score tied 15-15, first year setter Claire Loomans (Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest) delivered a service ace, and sophomore middle hitter Sofia Parmelee (Tenafly, N.J./Tenafly) followed with a kill to give Macalester the victory.

Senior Sofi Ascencio (Oakland, Calif./Holy Names) led the Scots with a career-high 15 kills to go with eight digs, while senior outside hitter Nicole Bennington (Shelton, Wash./Olympia) added seven kills. Senior setter Emily Bowler (South Salem, N.Y./John Jay) registered 32 assists, and sophomore libero Abrielle Dillon (Brown Deer, Wis./University School of Milwaukee) had 23 digs.

Against Trinity Bible, Macalester hit a season-best .204 and averaged 14.0 kills per set en route to a 25-11, 25-18, 25-19 sweep. Senior Gabby Ivy (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs) led all players with a career-high 12 kills to go with 12 digs. Bennington contributed nine kills, while sophomore middle hitter Kendall Ford (Seattle, Wash./The Northwest School) had seven kills. Bowler racked up 32 assists to help the offense run efficiently. Dillon matched Ivy with 12 digs to pace the defense.Dillon matched Ivy with 12 digs to pace the defense.

The Scots conclude the Macalester Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 15 with matches against Grinnell at 12:00 p.m. and Alverno at 2:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.

MAC (3) – 18 16 25 25 17
Beloit (2) – 25 25 19 20 15

MAC (3) – 25 25 25
TBC (0) – 11 18 19