GREENCASTLE, Ind. – The Kenyon Ladies volleyball team struggled offensively in a pair of matches on Saturday as they took on conference opponent DePauw University and Alma College. In both matches, the Ladies had an attack percentage no greater than .065 as they fell in straight sets in back-to-back contests for the first time all season.
 
MATCH ONE
 
The Tigers won by scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-20 en route to their 16th win of the year.
 
About midway through set one, Kenyon held a 15-14 advantage following a kill from Grace Riley. But following the junior's point, DePauw ran off four consecutive points which was capped off by a Kaylee Nichols service ace. Despite the small spurt, the Ladies weren't able to find a run of their own as DePauw took the opening stanza.
 
In set two, a 6-0 run from the home team put them ahead of Kenyon 14-9 before the Ladies regrouped. Jensen Shurbert's ace tied the set at 15, however, the Tigers responded with another big stretch, this time scoring seven in a row and pushing the lead out of reach.
 
The final set saw a tighter score near the end. Back-to-back points from Shurbert tied the set at 18. Both teams were once again tied a point later (19-19) before DePauw closed out the match. Haley Bitzer and Sarah Kelly each had kills and the Tigers' final point came on a service error from Kenyon.
 
Mackenzie Bruzzio led the team with seven kills, while Shurbert registered 23 assists and Alexi Donnelly and Ashley Martens each tallied 10 digs.
 
MATCH TWO
 
Alma had two long runs in each of the first two sets before prevailing in a really close third to send Kenyon back home without a victory on the day.
 
Tied 8-8 in the first, Alma reeled off a 9-1 run highlighted by a half dozen Kenyon errors to seize a 17-9 advantage. The closest the Ladies got the rest of the way was five points (18-13) on an Annmarie Magnus kill.
 
Following a block assist from Riley and Magnus which brought the score to 11-9 Ladies, the Scots went on another massive run, this time an 11-1 run to go up 20-12. Kendall Sells had three kills while Madison Smith added a pair of her own as Alma won 25-18.
 
In the third and final set, the Ladies showed some fight. Down 24-18, Kenyon rallied back with six straight points to tie the set. Later, Peyton Thomas had a kill to tie it again at 26, but the Scots held strong and got a kill and error to close out the match.
 
Riley had seven kills while Thomas added six. Defensively, Rachael Thorson tallied a team-high 11 digs while Magnus dished out a career-best 18 assists.
 
The Ladies, who have lost three out of the last four matches, will next travel to No. 3 (AVCA) Wittenberg University on October 19 for a 7 p.m. North Coast Athletic Conference match.