Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania volleyball team earned a split in a Saturday tri-match at the Beck Center on Saturday, sweeping its conference opponent, the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fightin' Engineers, 3-0 before enduring a 3-0 defeat to close out the day against the Otterbein University Cardinals in a nonconference matchup.
The Pioneers began the afternoon by trouncing the Engineers, 25-16, 25-19, 25-7 to improve their Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference record to 3-0; after Saturday's contests, the Pioneers now stand at 13-10 overall. Rose Hulman dropped to 9-10 overall and 1-2 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play while Otterbein moved to 16-2 overall.
Transylvania wasted no time in coasting past its HCAC rival, putting on the defensive clamps in the opening set fueled by 19 team digs. The Pioneers were an efficient 12 for 17 on sideout situations in set one to gain a nine-point victory.
The Engineers rose to the occasion in the second set, storming back from an 11-4 deficit to tie up the set at 14-14. But the Pioneers countered again, scoring four of the ensuing five points to stretch out a 19-15 advantage. Makayla Davis held serve for four straight points down the stretch as the Pioneers pulled away from the Engineers for a 25-19 victory, punctuated by a ferocious kill from Karrington Jackson to close out the set.
Transylvania confounded Rose-Hulman in the final set as the Engineers could only muster two kills to nine errors for a negative .194 attacking percentage. The Pioneers, meanwhile, could barely miss with their placement, registering 13 kills to just one error in the final set.
Cate Scheper had five of her team-high 10 kills in the final set to aid the Pioneers in sweeping the Engineers. The freshman completed her mastery of Rose-Hulman with an errorless showing, good for a .500 attacking percentage on the day. Jackson also completed her day without an offensive blemish, tallying six kills against zero errors for a .750 attacking percentage.
Makayla Davis led all players with 20 assists, adding three aces and nine digs in the win.
In the Saturday closer, Otterbein kept up its hot start to the season, amassing 16 kills to just three errors in the opening set to capture a 25-16 win against the Pioneers. Transylvania built an early lead in the second set, but the Cardinals went on a defining 8-0 run to swing the set in its favor en route to a 25-18 victory. Momentum belonged to the Cardinals, who closed out the day with a 25-11 win over the Pioneers.
Madison Sweeney led the Pioneers offensively against Otterbein with a co-match-high 10 kills while adding one dig and one block. Grace Ward led the Pioneers with 15 assists and six digs.
Transylvania resumes HCAC play next Wednesday on the road, visiting the Earlham College Quakers. Opening serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Druley Performance Gymnasium in Richmond, Indiana.
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