TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology volleyball team dropped a pair of matches over homecoming weekend, falling in four sets to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) foe Franklin in four sets by scores of 25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 25-18 and dropping a five-set contest to Illinois Wesleyan by scores of 16-25, 25-21, 25-22, 28-30, 15-8.
The match with Franklin proved to be very defensive as neither team hit over a .200 clip for the match. Rose-Hulman , as a team, had 57 kills and 31 attack errors on 180 attack attempts for a .144 hitting percentage while the Grizzlies had 46 kills to go along with 17 errors on 149 attack attempts for a .195 hitting percentage. Franklin held a big advantage in blocks recording 11 team blocks to Rose-Hulman's one.
Individually, four Engineers totaled double-digit kills lead by sophomore Emily McLendon with 16. The Lexington, Ky., native hit a .519 clip in the match. Junior Sarah Jensen notched another triple-double with 12 kills and 13 digs to go along with 23 assists. Sophomore Morgan Dreyer also tallied 23 assists. Freshman libero Gabi Razma led both teams with 30 digs.
In the match with Illinois Wesleyan, Rose-Hulman won the first set swiftly hitting a blistering .385 clip in the set. The Titans responded winning the next two sets 25-21 and 25-22. With its back against the wall, Rose-Hulman found itself trailing late in set four. The Engineers gritted their way to the victory fighting off four match points. A key solo block from McLendon gave Rose-Hulman a set point at 29-28. An Illinois Wesleyan attack error sent the match to the decisive fifth set. The Engineers trailed 6-1 early in set five and could not come back from the deficit.
Razma tallied a career and program high 46 digs in the match breaking a 15-year old record held by Kelly Barney. Jensen was the lone Engineer to record double-digit kills with 13.
As a team, Rose-Hulman turned its blocking efforts around from the first match to record six team blocks compared to just one for Illinois Wesleyan. In addition, the Engineers hit a .195 clip while holding the Titans to a mere .150 attack percentage.
"The game is not won or lost from the performance of just one player." head coach Brenda Goble said. "We were outplayed in both matches today. On a positive note, Gabi [Razma] played her heart out and deserves to be in the record book after a performance like that."
Rose-Hulman attempts to return to winning ways Monday, Oct. 6 when the Engineers take on Greenville. The match is slated to begin at 8 p.m. from the Hulbert Arena.
