ALBION, Mich. – The Baldwin Wallace University women's volleyball team went 1-2 after three matches this weekend. On Friday, BW took their first loss of the season at the hands of the Hanover College Panthers by a score of 1-3 (25-21, 17-25, 20-25, 20-25) in Olivet, Michigan inside the Cutler Event Center at the University of Olivet. On Saturday, BW fell to Anderson 2-3 (25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 13-25, 12-15) and rebounded against host team Albion by winning 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-13) inside Kresge Gymnasium at Albion College.
Hanover Recap
Set 1 (BW, 25-21): The Yellow Jacket offense was driven by junior setter
Anna Stankard who had 10 assists and led an 8-0 scoring run to turn a four-point deficit into a four-point lead midway through the set. This run gave BW a permanent lead for the remainder of the set. There were 16 kills by BW with a .256 hitting percentage.
Set 2 (Hanover, 25-17): The Panthers caught the Yellow Jackets on their heels with a 5-0 lead to start the set, and they never looked back. BW never got within two points of the Hanover lead. This set had a match-low eight kills and .031 hitting percentage by BW.
Set 3 (Hanover, 25-20): Hanover once again started the set with a scoring run of 4-0. The Panthers also had their best hitting efficiency of the match of .371 with 16 kills and only three errors. Senior
Lexi Smith and freshman
Morgan Petrecca each had three kills to lead BW.
Set 4 (Hanover, 25-20): This competitive set featured six ties and four scoring runs of at least four points for the two teams. After the first 4-0 Hanover scoring run, they held the lead until the end, surviving a 6-0 scoring run led by the freshman server
Libby Hubert. This run also featured two kills by Petrecca in an effort to come back late in the set.
Anderson Recap
Set 1 (BW, 25-23): The Yellow Jackets had a 7-1 scoring run that included two kills by sophomore
Emily Mendelson to give BW a 15-8 lead. The Panthers pushed back with their own 7-0 run shortly thereafter making the score 19-18 Anderson. Senior defensive specialist
Maddi Crea took the ball at the baseline and served through a 5-0 run to retake the lead and win the opening set.
Set 2 (BW, 25-20): BW's defense was the key to victory in set two. They had five total blocks with four coming in the final six rallies. Petrecca assisted each of the last three blocks, including the one on set point. Offensively, the Yellow Jackets had a match-high .205 hitting percentage.
Set 3 (Anderson, 25-21): A 7-1 run by the Ravens established dominance over the Yellow Jackets in set three. BW never gained a lead. The Yellow Jackets had seven attack errors while making 13 kills for a less effective offensive attack. Even a late 7-1 BW run was not enough to overcome the Ravens' pressure.
Set 4 (Anderson, 25-13): The Yellow Jackets had six errors on just six kills. BW could not find any offensive rhythm and dropped the fourth set.
Set 5 (Anderson, 15-12): The Brown and Gold scored nine unanswered points, showing their competitiveness in the final set. However, Anderson scored 12 unanswered points. The Ravens turned a 7-2 BW lead into a 10-7 Anderson lead, and the Ravens closed the match on a 5-0 run. Once again, the Yellow Jackets had six kills and six errors.
Albion Recap
Set 1 (Albion, 25-19): The Yellow Jackets lost their fourth consecutive set of the afternoon when the Albion Brits fired off 15 kills and only four errors for a match-best .367 hitting efficiency. BW was led offensively by Petrecca who had six kills.
Set 2 (BW, 25-23): The Brown and Gold rebounded with key offensive performances from freshman setter
Bella Temple and junior outside hitter
Lyla Nash. Temple contributed seven assists and Nash made four kills, including two late back-to-back kills in a 4-0 run to help seal the set victory.
Set 3 (BW, 25-19): BW's defense forced Albion into 10 errors with five total blocks to take the lead in the match. Petrecca assisted on four of those five blocks, including the block to earn set point. Leach also had back-to-back service aces as she led a 5-0 run to end the set.
Set 4 (BW, 25-13): The BW offense and defense returned to form with the offense hitting .379 with only two errors and the defense forcing Albion into more errors than kills. Baldwin Wallace had two separate 7-0 runs to establish themselves as the winning team. Nash was the primary weapon for BW with six kills. She even had three consecutive kills during the second 7-0 run.
Women's volleyball will travel to Delaware, Ohio on Tuesday, September 29 to face Ohio Wesleyan at 7:00 p.m. inside Branch Rickey Arena.
