OBERLIN, Ohio –
Lauren Kerr tied her season high with 13 kills, but they weren't enough to get the Kenyon College volleyball team a victory Friday night at Oberlin College. The host Yeowomen squeaked out wins in the first two sets and forged ahead for a 25-23, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18 North Coast Athletic Conference win.
Kerr, a freshman, only had one attack error on the evening and posted a sparkling .571 attack percentage. That brought her season percentage to .305. As it stands now, that's the third-best, single-season output in program history. Kerr also had four block assists to go along with her kill total against the Yeowomen.
Fellow freshman
Tierney McClure also had a good night. She racked up 10 kills, a team-high 17 digs, and a couple of block assists. Yet another freshman,
Jensen Shurbert, returned to the court to contribute six kills, nine digs, and a team-high 26 assists. Shurbert missed the Ladies' previous three matches due to a mild concussion.
In set one, Kenyon found itself trailing by scores of 20-13 and 22-16. Kills from
Katie Goulder and
Kaitlyn Power helped the Ladies garner five of the next seven points. Kerr then put down a kill that sparked three more Kenyon points, but Oberlin was able to halt the momentum and gain set point on a Ladies' error.
In the second set, two Kerr kills and an ace from Goulder were part of a 6-0 Kenyon run that gave the Ladies a 15-14 advantage. Oberlin then flipped momentum and scored nine of the set's next ten points to move ahead 23-16 and eventually claim another 25-23 win.
McClure came on strong late in set three, recording four kills and keeping Kenyon in business. Kerr, Shurbert, and
Grace Riley each had two kills in the set win for the Ladies.
Oberlin closed things out by going on a 12-1 run to claim the fourth set and the match. The victory moved the Yeowomen's records to 10-15 overall and 1-5 in the NCAC. The loss dropped Kenyon to 5-21 overall and 0-6 in the conference.
The Ladies return home Saturday to face rival Denison University at 1 p.m. in Tomsich Arena.
Lauren Kerr smacked another 13 kills Friday against Oberlin and now has 192 kills
on the season. She's also hitting at .305 pace, which currently stands as the
third-best percentage in Ladies' history.
