FRANKLIN, Ind. — The Kenyon College volleyball team dropped a pair of matches Saturday at the Franklin College Invitational, falling to host Franklin College, 3-0, before battling Alma College in a four-set, 3-1 setback at the Spurlock Center.
Kenyon opened the day against Franklin and fell by scores of 25-17, 25-17 and 25-12. Olivia Gumz paced the Owls with 10 kills, while Hannah Schwemm contributed 13 assists, four service aces and 10 digs. Makena Rodriguez added 12 digs, and Giada Spisak recorded two blocks.
Franklin controlled the match offensively, hitting .275 as a team compared to Kenyon's .011. The Owls managed 17 kills and 16 errors on 87 attacks, while the Grizzlies finished with 43 kills and 13 errors on 109 attempts.
Kenyon returned to the court later Saturday afternoon against Alma and showed a strong response, taking the second set and pushing the Scots throughout the four-set match.
Alma claimed the opening set, 25-16, but the Owls answered with a 25-23 victory in the second. Kenyon then battled through the third set before Alma pulled away for a 25-18 win. The Scots closed out the match with a 25-21 decision in the fourth set.
Three Owls reached double figures in kills against Alma. Gumz and Bryn Carrigan each recorded 12 kills, while Sophia Menke added 11 kills while hitting an impressive .643. Schwemm directed the offense with 30 assists and also collected five aces and 14 digs.
Kenyon's defense was led by Schwemm's 14 digs, with Arianna Flota and Rodriguez each adding eight. Gumz and Menke contributed three and two blocks, respectively.
The Owls finished the match with 41 kills, 38 assists, 46 digs and 12 aces. Alma countered with 47 kills and 18 aces while hitting .277.
Despite the two losses, Kenyon showed improvement in its second match of the day, particularly at the service line and offensively. The Owls won the second set against Alma and kept the fourth set within reach before the Scots secured the match.
Kenyon will return to action September 16 at home against Wooster.
