Women's Volleyball Splits Pair of 5-Set Thrillers

CINCINNATI, Ohio - On Saturday the Lions hosted the 2024 Charlie Wrubleski Invitational, welcoming Earlham, Marietta and Muskingum to the Harrington Center. The Lions would take on both Marietta and Muskingum, both matches went the full 5-sets with the Lions beating the Muskies but falling to the Pioneers.

MATCH ONE | MSJ 3 - Muskingum 2 (27-25, 22-25, 30-28, 15-25,15-13)

The Lions and Muskies split the first two sets of the match both winning tight sets. Early in the third it looked as if Muskingum was going to take the advantage, leading by as many as seven points. With Jasmine Butler at the service line the Lions got right back in it, winning seven straight points to take a 13-12 lead. Eventually winning the third 30-28 gave the Lions the advantage. 

With the Lions lead 2-1 going into the 4th, the seemed to have control of the match. Muskingum though put a dominant performace together in the 4th set, winning 25-15, forcing the 5th and decisive set. Muskingum carried their momentum into the 5th, racing out to a 6-2 advantage. A kill from Hannah Graves, drew the Lions to within one at 7-6. The Muskies continued to maintain an advantage, stretching the lead back to 3 at 10-7. But the Lions outscored them 8-2 the rest of the way, securing the win on a kill by Emma Sicking. 

Freshman Aubrey Miranda was fantastic in this one, leading the way with a a game-high 19 kills, while hitting .351. She led a trio of Lions with double-figure kills, joining her were Sicking (17) and Graves (13). Graves registered a double-double as she was second on the team with 14 digs. 

MATCH TWO | Marietta 3 - MSJ 2 (25-18, 19-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-3)

Match two of the day vs. Marietta was much like the first of the day, a 5-set thriller with close sets abundant. It was a different in that the Lions trailed 2-1 going into the 4th, and the Pioneers were looking to put the match away. With their backs against the wall, the Lions fought to win set four 25-19, forcing that decisive 5th set. Marietta raced out to a quick lead in the 5th and never looked back. 

Sicking led the way in this one with a 19 kill effort, her and Graves (13) were the only in double-figures. The middle pairing of Hannah Justice and Sydney Doty had 17 kills between the two of them, and Doty hit an outstanding .444.

UP NEXT | The Lions will head to Lexington, Ky. next weekend to take part in a tournament at Transylvania. There they will play Otterbein, Ohio Northern, Mount Union and Wisconsin-Eau Claire. This will continue to add to the difficult non-conference schedule for the Lions, which currently ranks as the 14th toughest schedule in the nation.