HANOVER, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology moved into the lead in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference volleyball standings with a key four-set win at Hanover College on Saturday afternoon.
Rose-Hulman's win, combined with a Bluffton loss on Friday night, leaves the Fightin' Engineers in a two-way with Transylvania University at the top of the HCAC standings at 6-1. Rose-Hulman holds any eventual tiebreaker with Transylvania as a result of their three-set win over the Pioneers at Hulbert Arena on Sept. 29.
Rose-Hulman relied on a balanced team performance to top Hanover 21-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-16 on Saturday afternoon. Bailey MacInnis smashed 15 kills and Marissa Gollnick added 13 kills to lead the Engineers. Katie Orbeta had a team-high 41 assists, and Maria Bruner recorded eight total blocks to pace the front row defense.
Katryna Dahlberg led Rose-Hulman with 27 digs and was joined in double figures by Gollnick with 17 and Orbeta with 15. Adekite Oladipupo, Sydney Griffith and Dahlberg had two service aces each.
Rose-Hulman improved to 16-10 overall and 6-1 in HCAC play with the victory, while Hanover dropped to 12-13 and 2-4 in league matches. The Fightin' Engineers host Earlham College and will honor Gollnick and MacInnis on Senior Night prior to the 7 p.m. match on Wednesday night.
