Volleyball knocks down the Crusaders in thrilling 5-set win

(Rochester Hills, MI) - The Rochester Christian women's volleyball team invited the Madonna Crusaders into the Garth Pleasant Arena on Friday night, with the two teams looking to start the back half of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) season off on the right foot. The two teams battled throughout the five sets as MU took a 2-1 lead following set 3. RCU would work their way back to a 2-2 tie and would ultimately come out on top with a 15-7 win in the final set. 

RCU improves its record to 14-8 overall and 8-4 in WHAC play, while the Crusaders fall to 12-8 overall and 7-5 in conference play. 

Alivia Everitt started the Warriors off on the right foot with a kill to get the scoring started. MU would take a 10-7 lead following a 7-1 run. RCU worked its way back to eventually a 15-15 tie before Madonna worked its way to a 21-19 advantage, forcing a RCU timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Crusaders would have a service error, and Alivia Everitt would tally a pair of aces for the 22-21 lead. After a pair of MU points, Mackenzie Keefer and Chante Hudgins combined for a block, and Madelyn Geisenhaver earned an ace to round out the set.

The Crusaders started the second set off hot, scoring the first five points. The two teams would rattle off points back-and-forth, with Madonna keeping their lead steady until a six-point run from RCU to come within two points. The Crusaders would hold off the rest of the RCU comeback, drawing even in the match. 

The first RCU point would once again come off an attack from Alivia Everitt. Hailee Mancogna and Liljana Margiljaj would grab a couple of kills in the middle part of the set to keep the set close. The Crusaders led the third set 15-13, before rattling off a 10-3 run to take a commanding 2-1 lead. 

Liljana Margiljaj got the first point for RCU as they looked to rebound after dropping the previous two sets. RCU recorded a short 5-1 run, with points coming from Alivia Everitt (1 kill), Chante Hudgins (2 kills and 1 block), and Mackenzie Keefer (1 block). The score would go back and forth, with the score being tied a total of ten times from 6-6 to 15-15. Hailee Macogna served an ace to force a MU timeout. Out of the timeout, the teams traded points with RCU keeping the lead throughout the end, winning the set on an attacking error. 

Kourtney Mack was the first kill of a 5-1 run to start the race to 15 in set five. The Warriors would continue with a 7-2 run to force a pair of Madonna timeouts and grab a 12-5 lead. The final set of points came from Mackenzie Keefer on a kill and blocks from Alivia Everitt and Kourtney Mack to finish off the comeback. 

TOP PERFORMERS

A pair of Warriors recorded double-digit kills, led by Alivia Everitt with 16, while Chante Hudgins recorded 14. Mackenzie Keefer was the main assister on the night, tallying a total of 46 on the evening, which is the fourth most in a single game in program history. 

Ashley Horne, Hannah Maynard, and Madelyn Geisenhaver all dug out double-digit attacks, with Horne leading the bunch with 19, while Maynard and Geisenhaver had 15 and 12, respectively. As a team, the Warriors totaled 26 total blocks in the match, led by a trio of Warriors in Chante Hudgins and Mackenzie Keefer with seven each, while Alivia Everitt blocked six attacks. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors are back in action on Wednesday, October 15, when they play host to the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils as they look to even out the season series at one game apiece with a 7 PM start.