TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Rose-Hulman women's volleyball team fell short in a competitive match against Earlham College on Wednesday night with a final score of 3-1 and set scores of 25-23, 19-25, 16-25, 22-25.
Hannah Bergfeld and
Emma Blanton led the team in kills with 11 each in the match.
Julia Irmen was the star setter with 27 assists on the night. Irmen was also extremely efficient at the service line with a team-high five service aces.
Shae Clements was the standout defensively with 20 digs in the contest.
Keira Ohse was another defensive star for the Fightin' Engineers with five total blocks.
The Fightin' Engineers brought the intensity in the first set of the match. After trailing 12-11, the team put together a 6-0 run to build a 17-12 lead. The Quakers answered with an 8-4 run to decrease the lead to 21-20. Rose then rattled off three straight kills, two by Bergfeld and one by Irmen, to stand ahead 24-20. Earlham tried to sneak back into the lead with three straight points, but the Fightin' Engineers finished strong with a kill by Bergfeld to take the first set, 25-23.
Earlham answered with two convincing wins in sets two and three with scores of 25-19 and 25-16. With their backs up against the wall, Rose-Hulman kept the score close in the fourth set. The team trailed 22-21 down the stretch. Earlham earned their final three points on errors by the Fightin' Engineers to claim the win and complete the victory over Rose-Hulman.
The Fightin' Engineers currently rank tied for sixth in the HCAC standings with an overall record of 6-16 and a conference mark of 2-4. The top eight teams will qualify for the HCAC Tournament.
Rose-Hulman volleyball will return home to host Manchester in their final home conference match of the season on Saturday, October 31, at 1 PM for Greek Night.
