Volleyball mounts comeback for the 5-set win over Lawrence Tech

(Rochester Hills, MI) - The Rochester Christian women's volleyball team had its second straight five-set thriller, this time matching up against the Blue Devils from Lawrence Tech. The Warriors would wind up avenging an earlier loss to the Blue Devils after winning the final two sets of the evening. RCU improves its record to 15-8 and 9-4 in WHAC play, while LTU falls to 15-6 overall and 8-5 in conference play. 

Alivia Everitt started the tight first half with a kill to get the Warriors on the board. The two teams would start the set by trading points back and forth until the Blue Devils had a 13-10 lead. From that point, they would score 11 of the next 14 points and grab a 24-13 lead. Chante Hudgins would earn a kill as the Warriors picked up three more points before the LTU kill to win the set. 

Madelyn Geisenhaver was the first point of the second set, after earning a kill as the set started, nearly identical to the first. This time, though, it would be the Warriors jumping out to lead midway through the set. Four straight points, aided by kills from Hailee Mancogna and Alivia Everitt, would push the RCU lead out to 16-12. The Blue Devils responded, scoring four of the next five points, before a Geisenhaver serve streak would give RCU a 21-16 advantage. Mancogna, Chante Hudgins, and Mackenzie Keefer would combine for three of the final four RCU points. 

A pair of errors gave the Warriors a 2-0 advantage to start the third set of the evening. The third set would see a tight match all the way through with 11 separate ties throughout. Neither team had more than a three-point run until LTU grabbed four straight to give them a 24-21 lead. After a pair of RCU points and an LTU timeout, the Blue Devils were able to grab the final point. 

The Warriors were able to grab momentum right from the start in set four, jumping out to a 7-1 lead, forcing an early LTU timeout. RCU kept the pressure on as Madelyn Geisenhaver served four straight points, with Mackenzie Keefer earning a kill and blocks coming from Chante Hudgins, Hailee Mancogna, and Keefer. The two teams traded rallies, which would give RCU a 20-12 lead, until LTU created another large run, scoring seven of the next 10 points. Geisenhaver would earn a kill and blocks from Keefer, and Hudgins would send the team to five sets. 

RCU grabbed a quick 4-1 lead to start the final set of the evening, before a quick run by the Blue Devils evened the score. The Warriors would respond right away, with Chante Hudgins, Hailee Mancogna, Kendal Zeiter, and Mackenzie Keefer leading the way to an 11-5 lead. A seven out of eight point-run would give the Blue Devils an attempted comeback, but a crucial LTU error would end the night. 

TOP PERFORMERS
A trio of Warriors tallied double-digit kills, as they were led by Hailee Mancogna with 13, followed by Alivia Everitt and Chante Hudgins with 11 and 10, respectively. Mackenzie Keefer handled the setting duties, making 40 assists. 

Chante Hudgins led the front-line defense, blocking a total of 10 attacks (2 solo), with Mackenzie Keefer adding five as well. Five different RCU players had at least 10 digs as they were led by Ashley Horne with 26, followed by Madelyn Geisenhaver, Mackenzie Keefer, Karli Rohraff, and Hannah Maynard with 24, 16, 12, and 11, respectively.

UP NEXT

The Warriors will travel down to Ohio this weekend for a pair of matches. On Friday, October 17, the Warriors will take on Defiance College at 7 PM, before traveling to Lourdes on Saturday for a 2 PM match.