ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College volleyball team began play in the St. Paul Classic against Simpson College Friday afternoon in the Leonard Center. The eight-team tournament is being played at both Macalester and Hamline Friday and Saturday. Against Simpson, the Scots battled but lost in four sets, 25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 25-20 to fall to 3-3 on the season. The Storm improves to 3-2.
In the first set, Macalester led early then fell behind before tying the score at 17-17. After Simpson pulled ahead, 21-18, the Scots used a pair of kills by junior outside hitter
Adonia Anene (North Hollywood, Calif./The Buckley School) to make it a one-point set, 22-21. But the Storm tallied the final four points to take the set, 25-21. Anene had three kills.
The second set was close until the Scots utilized a 7-1 run that included three kills from first year outside hitter
Channing Smith (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) to take a 19-12 advantage. Simpson came as close as 21-17, but Macalester wrapped up the set, 25-19. Smith finished with five kills in the set, while first year outside hitter
Maxine Holmes (San Francisco, Calif./Lick-Wilmerding) notched three kills.
Momentum stayed with the Scots early in the third set, as the hosts opened up with a 7-1 run that was buoyed by a pair of kills from first year middle blocker
Kyle Speta (San Francisco, Calif./The Urban School of San Francisco). The Storm came back to tie the score at 8-8, then broke a 13-13 tie with three straight points to take the lead for good. Anene and Smith put away three kills apiece for Macalester, which came as close as 17-16 before eventually falling, 25-19.
In the fourth set, Simpson led by as many as eight points and held an 18-10 advantage. The Scots kept battling and pulled to within two, 21-19 following two kills from Anene. But the Storm scored four of the final five points to take the set, 25-20 and the match. Anene registered five kills in the set, while Simpson's Emily Williams had nine of her match-high 18 kills in the final set.
Anene led the Scots with 13 kills, while Smith recorded 11 kills and 15 digs. First year setter
Lydia Koshuta (Appleton, Wis./Appleton) delivered 16 assists, three aces and 11 assists, and senior setter
Hannah Morrow (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook) had 15 assists, one ace and eight digs. Defensively, junior libero
Lizzie Joo (San Jose, Calif./Valley Christian) tallied a team-best 22 digs, Speta had four total blocks and sophomore right side
Danielle Oji (Katy, Texas/Obra D. Tompkins) had three blocks.
Macalester concludes play at the St. Paul Classic on Saturday, Sept. 12 with matches against UW-Superior at 12:00 p.m. and Minn. Morris at 4:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.
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