FRANKLIN, Ind. — The Kenyon College volleyball team opened the Franklin College Invitational with a pair of five-set battles Friday, rallying past Blackburn College before falling to Eureka College in game two of the night.
The Owls twice found themselves pushed to the limit, playing all 10 possible sets on the opening day of the Franklin Invitational at the Spurlock Center.
Kenyon opened the day by overcoming a late Blackburn surge to earn a 25-19, 25-19, 15-25, 22-25, 15-11 victory. The Owls then battled Eureka in another five-set affair, taking the middle two sets before the Red Devils answered to win 25-18, 13-25, 11-25, 25-13, 15-12.
Against Blackburn, Kenyon established control early behind a strong offensive start. The Owls hit .423 in the opening set and .367 in the second, taking a 2-0 lead. Blackburn responded by winning the third and fourth sets, forcing a decisive fifth.
Kenyon settled in during the final set, hitting .571 with 10 kills and just two errors. The Owls pulled away to finish the match 15-11 and secure their second victory of the season.
Olivia Gumz and Abby Stenger led the Kenyon attack with 18 kills apiece against Blackburn. Sophia Menke added eight kills while hitting .467, and Hannah Schwemm directed the offense with 38 assists. Gumz, Schwemm and Annie Sjolander each recorded 10 digs, while Arianna Flota contributed three service aces.
The Owls returned to the court later Friday night and again found themselves in a back-and-forth battle.
Eureka took the opening set 25-18, but Kenyon quickly reversed the momentum. The Owls hit .250 in the second set and .333 in the third, limiting Eureka to a combined 11 kills across the two frames while building a 2-1 advantage.
Eureka responded in the fourth, taking advantage of 11 Kenyon attack errors to force another fifth set. The Red Devils then edged the Owls 15-12 in the deciding frame.
Stenger paced Kenyon with 12 kills in the nightcap, while Menke added nine and Gumz finished with eight. Makena Rodriguez provided a spark from the service line with five aces, and Giada Spisak led the defensive effort at the net with five blocks. Schwemm added 21 assists, while Gumz and Flota each collected 10 digs.
For the day, Stenger finished with 30 kills across the two matches, while Gumz added 26 and Menke totaled 17. Schwemm quarterbacked the offense with 59 assists.
Kenyon will close the Franklin Invitational Saturday with matches against Franklin College at 11 a.m. and Alma College at 1 p.m.
