HANOVER, Indiana -- The Kenyon College volleyball team opened its three-game slate at the Hanover College Tournament with a 3-1 loss to Berea College (4-3), falling 21-25, 25-16, 19-25, 19-25.

Early runs of four and five points by Berea had the Owls facing an early first-set deficit, going down by as many as seven at 17-10. However, Kenyon rattled off a 4-0 run and won 11 of the next 16 points to pull within one at 22-21. Despite the comeback effort, the Mountaineers closed out set one with three straight points to win 25-21 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Kenyon came out on fire in set two, winning the first seven points. The run was powered by kills from Lindsey Abramson, Ellie Luciani, Kathryn McCaffrey, and Eras Yager, combined with a Luciani ace and a pair of Berea errors. Each team finished with 12 set-two kills, but Kenyon hit .275 compared to Berea's .061 thanks to nine attack errors by the Mountaineers. 

The Owls built their lead up to 12 on several occasions, including a 23-12 lead as Kenyon looked to close out Berea. The Mountaineers refused to go down without a fight, winning five consecutive points to force a Kenyon timeout. The break in the action paid immediate dividends for the Owls as Berea committed back-to-back errors, clinching the 25-16 match-tying win.

It was a back-and-forth third set that was tied at 10 before Kenyon went up 13-10. However, six unanswered Berea points flipped the script and forced a timeout. The Owls had been hitting well, over .300 as a team, in the early going, but the slide quickly dropped them under a .200 clip.

Kenyon briefly stopped the run after Reimbold recorded a kill out of the timeout, but four more Mountaineer points forced another Owls timeout as they faced a 20-14 deficit. Berea took a 2-1 lead after winning 25-19 despite the Owls finishing with one more kill. The Mountaineers only hit .016 better, but a 2-0 edge in blocks and a 3-0 edge in aces bolstered Berea's third-set win.

Set four was knotted 8-8 in the early going, but Berea notched eight unanswered points and compiled a 12-1 run to take a commanding 20-9 lead. As they attempted to bounce back, the Owls got consecutive kills from Paige Milhon and Yager. Kenyon survived six straight match points with two blocks, two kills, and two aces, cutting the gap to 24-19. The comeback effort came up just short as Berea shut the door, earning a 25-19 win to clinch the match 3-1.

The Mountaineers hit .239 in set four while holding Kenyon to a .081 percentage, finishing the match with a narrow .156 to .133 edge. Each team added a handful of aces with five apiece, and the Owls blocked six shots to the Mountaineers' four.

McCaffrey, a first-year, led Kenyon with a .304 hitting percentage, finishing with seven kills on 23 attempts while adding five digs and two blocks. Reimbold led the Owls with 15 kills, but it was tough sledding as she hit .091 with 10 errors on 55 attempts. The senior also notched 18 digs.

Abramson, a junior, reached double-digit kills for the third consecutive match, finishing with 10 on 39 attacks, good for a .179 percentage. Jac Cousineau compiled a double-double with 19 assists and 12 digs. First-year Maggie Wolf joined the senior, Cousineau, with double-figure dimes, compiling 12. First-year Elizabeth Sonza notched a team-high 25 digs, while Luciani, a senior, finished with 19.

Up next, the Owls play a doubleheader to close their time in Hanover, Indiana. Kenyon (1-6) lines up against Adrian College (6-4) at 10 a.m. before a 12 p.m. match against Westminster College (MO) (6-5).