ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College women's volleyball team played two matches at the Saint Mary's Triangular on Saturday, losing to Saint Mary's University in three sets, 25-11, 25-19, 25-22, before falling to Coe College, 25-16, 25-18, 25-19. With the losses, Macalester's record is now 7-11, 2-3 MIAC.
Against Saint Mary's (11-9, 2-2 MIAC), Macalester lost the first set, 25-11. Looking to tie the game in the second set, Macalester started strong by scoring the first five points, including one kill by
Kyle Speta (San Francisco, Calif./Urban School of San Francisco) and three by Junior outside hitter
Adonia Anene (North Hollywood, Calif./The Buckley School). After Macalester traded points with Saint Mary's to a narrow 16-14 lead, the Cardinals overtook the Scots, earning 11 of the next 14 points and closing the set at 25-19.
The third set was the closest, marked by back-and-forth scoring between the Scots and Cardinals. After trailing 5-2, kills by Anene and first-year middle blocker
Siennah Calkins (Tomahawk, Wis./Tomahawk) contributed to a four-point run to retake the lead, though Saint Mary's eventually edged Macalester to win the third set, 25-22, and take home the match.
Anene led the Scots in kills, with seven in the match, while sophomore
Danielle Oji (Katy, Texas/Obra D. Tompkins) and Speta each registered five. Senior setter
Hannah Morrow (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook) led the team with 12 assists and one ace. Defensively, first-year
Channing Smith (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) led in digs, with 15. Junior defensive specialist
Lizzie Joo (San Jose, Calif./Valley Christian) contributed eight digs as well as an ace.
In the second game, Macalester battled 5-12 Coe College. The Scots fought hard in the first set, leading in attack attempts, but dropped the set, 25-16. Smith logged five kills. The second set was tight until the Kohawks registered six of the final seven points to win, 25-18. Speta led Macalester with three kills. In the third set, the Scots never led, trailing by as many as 10 points before battling back with six straight points to make the score 23-19. But Coe tallied the final two points to clinch the set and the win, 25-19.
Smith notched three kills in the final set and finished with a team-best 10 kills. First year setter
Lauren Brown (Austin, Texas/The Hotchkiss School) dished out 11 assists, while Joo registered a team-high 12 digs.
The Scots will host a tri-match on Saturday, Oct. 17, facing St. Olaf College at 1:00 p.m., and UW-La Crosse at 5:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.
