HOLLAND, Mich. - The Baldwin Wallace University women's volleyball team competed at the Hope College October Invitational hosted by Hope (Mich.) College where they fell to Swarthmore (Pa.) College, No. 10 nationally ranked Millikin (Ill.) University, and No. 2 nationally ranked Hope in DeVos Fieldhouse.
BW (11-9) opened the Invitational on Friday night by beating Swarthmore in the first set, but dropped the next three to the Garnet by scores of 25-23, 19-25, 22-25, and 21-25. On Saturday, the Yellow Jackets faced off against two Top 10 nationally ranked teams as they fell to No. 10 Millikin in straight sets by scores of 20-25, 18-25, and 18-25, and then took on the host No. 2 Hope where they fell in three sets by scores of 17-25, 20-25, and 16-25.
vs. Swarthmore (11-6)
- Sophomore outside hitter Lexi Smith (Tiffin/Columbian) led the team with 11 kills
- Junior Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference setter Katarina Blazetic (DeLand, Fla.) recorded her 1,000th career assist as she tallied a game-high 36 assists and added 12 digs
- Freshman middle hitter Josie Lynn (Wabash, Ind./Northfield) contributed eight kills, two digs, and a block assist
- Senior All-OAC libero Lauren Gardner (Avon/St. Joseph Academy) tallied a game-high 18 digs
- Senior outside hitter Sydney Simonson (Sullivan/Black River), freshman outside hitter Bella Martinez (Newark), and senior outside hitter Brinn MacLellan (Novelty/Gilmour Academy) each recorded seven kills
- Sophomore Academic All-OAC defensive specialist Jamie Snell (Strongsville) recorded 10 digs and senior All-OAC outside hitter Sam Rueda (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) recorded eight
- Senior defensive specialist Ashleigh Curtiss (Bolingbrook, Ill.) came in to serve for the Yellow Jackets and recorded the first of her handful of digs on the weekend
- Simonson led the team with four total blocks
vs. No. 10 Millikin (22-3)
- MacLellan finished with 10 kills and three digs
- Gardner led the team once again with 16 digs
- Lynn added seven more kills
- Blazetic assisted 32 more times
- Even with a shoulder injury, junior Academic All-OAC outside hitter Gabby Schlecht (Naperville, Ill./North) had nine digs
- Freshman outside hitter Lyla Nash (Berkey/Evergreen) had a career-high four kills and assisted on two blocks
at No. 2 Hope (16-2)
- Gardner added 20 digs to total 54 on the weekend
- Simonson recorded two more block assists
- Blazetic totaled 16 more assists
- MacLellan and Smith led the offense with six kills and five kills, respectivley
- Freshman setter Maggie Hilliard (West Bloomfield, Mich./Cranbrook Kingswood) came off the bench in her second straight match to get some second touches for the Brown and Gold
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Wednesday, October 16 as they travel to University Heights for an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup against crosstown rival John Carroll University at 7 p.m. on Mike Moran Court inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.