MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Macalester College volleyball team dropped a close non-conference match to North Central University in five sets, 15-25, 22-25, 28-26, 25-17, 15-10 Tuesday night at Clark Danielson Gym.

The Scots (0-5) won the first two sets, with junior Sofia Parmelee (Tenafly, N.J./Tenafly) registering five kills in the first set, and senior Ashley Helfinstein (Sunnyvale, Calif./Homestead) and junior Kendall Ford (Seattle, Wash./The Northwest School) each tallying three kills. Macalester trailed for most of the third set but battled back to lead late before falling, 28-26. North Central (3-0) forced a fifth set with a 25-17 win in the fourth. In the fifth and deciding set, the Rams scored five of the last six points to turn a close, 10-9 edge into a 15-10 set victory and a five-set win.

Parmelee led all players with 11 kills while hitting .381. First year Zoe Lowe (Longmont, Colo./Longmont) added eight kills and two services aces, while first year Eliza King (Novato, Calif./San Marin) registered seven kills and eight digs. Sophomore Claire Loomans (Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest) kept the offense clicking with 25 assists. Defensively, first year Katrina Schoen (Grafton, Wis./Cedarburg) and senior Deborah Pickford (Denver, Colo./East) notched 12 and 11 digs, respectively.

The Scots host the Macalester Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6-7 in the Leonard Center. The first matches begin at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, with Macalester opening up against UW-River Falls.

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