ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College volleyball team opened play at the Macalester Invitational with a hard-fought victory over Buena Vista University, 26-24, 15-25, 26-24, 26-24 Friday evening in the Leonard Center. The Scots improve to 2-3 on the season, while the Beavers drop to 2-4.

Macalester was at its best down the stretch, working overtime to win three sets by the identical score of 26-24. In the first set, the Scots trailed 22-20 before tying the score with a kill by sophomore Avery Rahe (Olathe, Kan./Olathe West) and a Beavers' error. After a Macalester service error and a kill by junior Adisa Preston (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) made it 23-23, senior Nalani Tokuhama (Pearl City, Hawaii/Pearl City) delivered a service ace to create set point. Buena Vista tied the score again with a kill by Skylar Cole, only to have a kill by first year MiLani Terrell (Cypress, Texas/Tomball Memorial) and a BVU attack error give the Scots the win, 26-24. Preston and Rahe each had four kills to lead Macalester.

The second set was all Buena Vista, as the Beavers led by as many as 10 points in a 25-15 win. In the third set, the Scots' chances looked bleak with BVU building a 19-12 advantage. But Macalester rallied by scoring the next eight points, including two kills from sophomore Grace Watkins (San Angelo, Texas/Georgetown), to put the Scots on top, 20-19. A pair of kills by first year Sydney Stratton (North Liberty, Iowa/Liberty) helped to push Macalester to the brink, 24-22, but two attack errors tied the score at 24-24. Preston, who leads the Scots with 3.59 kills per set this season, notched back-to-back kills to lift her team to another 26-24 win. Preston and Watkins, who sparked the Scots off the bench, had four kills apiece in the set.

It looked like the match was headed to a fifth set when the Beavers held a 23-20 edge late in the fourth. Junior Grace Galer (Hanover Park, Ill./Schaumburg) and BVU's Courtney Johnson exchanged kills to give the Beavers set point, 24-22. After a service error made the score 24-23, Watkins saved the Scots with three consecutive kills, and suddenly it was match point for Macalester. A Buena Vista attack error ended the match, and the Scots walked off the court as winners in their home opener.

Watkins had seven of her team-leading 11 kills in the fourth set en route to hitting .588 with only one error in 17 attempts. Preston and Rahe each had nine kills for the match, with Preston adding 12 digs and three blocks. First year Hannah Morrow (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook) dished out 34 assists to go with nine digs. Defensively, junior Stephanie Geber (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo) had five blocks while Stratton matched Preston with three blocks, and sophomore Sarah Bohrer (Minneapolis, Minn./Edina) registered 20 digs. Cole led all players with 14 kills.

The Scots continue play at the Macalester Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 9 with matches against Grinnell at 11:00 a.m. and Luther at 3:00 p.m.