Men’s Volleyball: Olivet loses twice at St. Norbert Invitational

DE PERE, Wis. – The University of Olivet men's volleyball team fell in a pair of non-conference matches at the St. Norbert (Wis.) College Invitational today at the Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center. After being swept by Augustana (Ill.) College, the Comets lost in five sets to the host Green Knights.

• Final Score: Augustana defeated Olivet 26-24, 25-22, 25-17
• Location: Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center; De Pere, Wisconsin
• Records: Olivet 2-6 overall, Augustana 5-1 overall

• The beginning of the first set was nip and tuck, with multiple tied scores. After the Vikings took a 14-11 lead, the Comets went on a 7-0 run to go up 18-14. Augustana responded with an 8-2 run to take a 22-20 lead. Olivet scored the next two points to even the score. The teams traded points to create ties at 23-23 and 24-24. The Vikings used a kill and Comet attack error to take the set.
• The second set was like the first, as there were 10 tied scores to start it. Down 11-10, Augustana took advantage of a service error and two Olivet attack errors to go up 13-11. The Vikings did not surrender the lead for the rest of the set.
• In the third set, the Comets held a couple one-point leads. Following the third one at 7-6, Augustana put five straight points on the scoreboard to go up, 11-7. The Vikings kept the lead for the remainder of the set to complete the sweep.

• Freshman Ke'Shon Johnson topped Olivet with eight kills and a .389 attack percentage.
• Seniors Quinn Dickerson and Will Mensching were next with five kills apiece.
• Senior Everett Haynes recorded a team-best 21 set assists and nine digs.

• Final Score: St. Norbert defeated Olivet 25-20, 25-14, 20-25, 21-25, 15-13
• Location: Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center; De Pere, Wisconsin
• Records: Olivet 2-7 overall, St. Norbert 5-3 overall

• In the first set, the Green Knights led 7-4 before a 5-0 Comet run made the score 8-7. Olivet fought back and took a 15-12 lead. St. Norbert rallied by scoring 13 of the final 18 points to win the set, 25-20.
• The Green Knights had a wire-to-wire lead in the second set.
• In the third set, the Comets raced out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back, leading by as many as seven points.
• For the majority of the fourth set, neither team led by more than two points. St. Norbert took the largest lead for either team at 19-16. Olivet responded by closing out the set with a 9-2 run to win it 25-21 and force a deciding set.
• In the fifth set, the Green Knights built a 9-7 lead. Three St. Norbert attack errors and a kill by freshman Tyler Batt put the Comets ahead 11-9. The Green Knights answered with three points to regain the lead. Senior Deontay Thomas' kill evened the score before a St. Norbert kill made the score 13-12. Dickerson's kill leveled the score. The Green Knights scored the last two points to win the set, 15-13, and match, 3-2.

• Dickerson slammed down a match-high 18 kills and had only one error on 26 attempts. His .654 attack percentage breaks the school single-match record. The 18 kills are third-most for a five-set match.
• Thomas finished with eight kills and 15 digs.
• Haynes collected 42 set assists and 16 digs.

• Olivet stays in De Pere to play University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. ET.