DELAWARE, Ohio -- The Rose-Hulman volleyball team split their doubleheader on Saturday at the Ohio Wesleyan Tournament. The Fightin' Engineers fell to Heidelberg with a score of 3-0, then bounced back to defeat Kalamazoo with a score of 3-2. This moves the team to 2-8 overall this season.
Kaia Schroeder led the team in the first game of the day against Heidelberg with seven kills.
Julia Irmen led the team with 19 assists, and
Shae Clements was the top defender with 14 digs.
Heidelberg took control of the match early, jumping to a 9-2 lead in the first set. The team held onto the lead for the remainder of the set to pick up the set win, 25-17. The Student Princes continued to dominate in the match, winning in straight sets with scores of 25-16 and 25-12.
The Fightin' Engineers were able to bounce back in the second match of the day against the Kalamazoo Hornets with set scores of 23-25, 25-12, 14-25, 25-16, and 15-11.
Rose had three players reach double figures in kills, led by
Keira Ohse with 15 kills. She was followed by
Hannah Bergfeld and
Emma Blanton with 11 kills each.
Julia Irmen had an incredible performance with 45 assists in the match. The team also had three players in double figures in digs, led by Clements with 22 digs.
The Fightin' Engineers dropped a tight first set with a final score of 25-23. Rose bounced back in the second set with a stellar performance to defeat the Hornets. The team stood ahead 20-12 down the stretch and rattled off five straight points to even the match at one set apiece.
Kalamazoo answered with a dominant win in the third set, 25-14. Rose-Hulman continued the tug of war with a strong effort in the fourth set. The team started with a 6-0 run to build a commanding lead. With the score at 16-11, Rose-Hulman ended the set on a 9-5 run to even the match at 2-2 and force a fifth set.
In the final set, Rose-Hulman started strong with a 4-1 lead. The team didn't give up the lead for the remainder of the set, winning on a service error by the Hornets, 15-11.
The Rose-Hulman volleyball team will return home to host DePauw in their home opener on Wednesday, September 23, at 7 PM.
