ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley College women's volleyball team battled back and forth with Elizabethtown College on Tuesday evening in Thompson Gymnasium, but the Flying Dutchmen came up just short in a hard-fought five-set match, falling 3-2 to the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays jumped out to a 6-43 early in the first set.
Libby Lindau ignited a 4-1 run to even the score at seven. Elizabethtown responded with a big 5-1 run to regain the advantage. LVC batted back and forth over the next 11 points and cut the deficit to 16-15 on a
Riley Mack kill. The Blue Jays scored the next two points before LVC was able to rally and even the set at 19. Elizabethtown closed out the set strong with a 6-2 run to win the set 25-21.
Brooke Olejniczak sparked the Dutchmen with a service ace, while
Hadley Sparks and
Jillian Jefferys added early kills to help LVC jump out to a 6-3 advantage. Elizabethtown battled back and eventually tied the set at 13-13, but Lebanon Valley responded with one of its strongest stretches of the match. Consecutive kills from Sparks and Jefferys ignited a 5-0 run, and another ace from Olejniczak pushed the Dutchmen in front 18-13. LVC kept the pressure on and took the set 25-19 to even the match up.
The third set was tight early on, with the teams trading points.
Casey Levan had an ace to highlight three consecutive points that put LVC up 5-3. They were able to extend the advantage to 10-5 after an ace from
Molly Thomas. The Blue Jays took the lead 14-12 with seven consecutive points. LVC was able to tie the set up before a 5-2 run put the hosts up 20-17. They were able to keep the advantage throughout the rest of the set to win 25-21 and go up 2-1.
The fourth set was full of back-and-forth action. LVC came out swinging with two aces from Olejniczak to take a 6-2 advantage. The Blue Jays responded with a big run of their own to go up 10-8. The Dutchmen countered with strong play by Reynolds at the net and another ace, this time from
Jasmine Sullivan, to take a 19-12 lead. The Blue Jays used a pair of aces to stop the run and cut the advantage to four. LVC responded with a decisive run to close out the set 25-16 and even the match back up.
Elizabethtown scored the first three points of the fifth set. LVC answered right back and tied the set. The Blue Jays used a 6-1 run to go up 9-4 and take control of the set. The Dutchmen batted right back and cut the deficit down to one at 11-10. Elizabethtown closed out the set strong by winning four of the next five points to win the set 15-11 and take the match victory on their home court.
Inside the Box
- Sparks led the Dutchmen attack with 16 kills, adding 14 digs, three block assists, and a service ace for a team-high 18.5 points.
- Reynolds was highly efficient offensively, recording 11 kills on a .360 hitting percentage, while contributing five digs, three total blocks, and a service ace.
- Lindau provided a strong presence at the net with 10 kills, four block assists, and 12.0 points.
- Olejniczak filled the stat sheet with seven kills, a team-high five service aces, two assists, eight digs, and 12.5 points.
- Jasmine Sullivan handed out a match-high 29 assists, adding nine digs and a service ace.
- Thomas anchored the back row with a team-high 19 digs and contributed a service ace and three assists.
- LVC had four players reach double-digit kills or points while posting 17 total blocks.
Up Next
The Dutchmen will be back in action on Thursday, September 10, with a road match at Wilson College. Opening serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Chambersburg.
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