OLIVET, Mich. — Wabash College opened Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League play in decisive fashion Friday night, sweeping the University of Olivet 25-14, 25-20, 25-15 at the Cutler Event Center to earn its first conference victory of the season.
The Little Giants improved to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in MCVL action, while Olivet fell to 5-10 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Wabash hit a season-best .394 as a team with 37 kills against just nine errors on 71 total attacks. The Little Giants were especially efficient in the opening set, recording 16 kills with only two errors on 25 swings for a .560 hitting percentage.
Junior
Bawibawi Thang led the attack with nine kills on 16 attempts (.375), adding a solo block and an assist block for 10.5 points.
Jaden Greenwell delivered seven kills without an error on 10 attempts for a match-high .700 hitting percentage, while
Patrick Volk contributed seven kills on .500 hitting and three block assists.
Ben Donaldson added four kills and factored into two blocks as Wabash totaled 10 block assists and three total team blocks.
Matthew Stitle orchestrated the offense with 30 assists and chipped in six digs and a service ace.
The Little Giants set the tone early, jumping out to a commanding lead in the first set. Wabash did not allow a tie score or lead change in the frame and limited Olivet to five kills and a .000 hitting percentage. The visitors closed the set on a strong run behind efficient side-out play and disciplined blocking at the net.
The second set proved more competitive. The teams battled through seven tie scores and three lead changes as Olivet briefly seized momentum midway through the frame. The Comets posted 10 kills in the set but also committed 10 attacking errors, finishing with a .000 percentage for the stanza. Wabash countered with steady production, using key kills from Thang and Greenwell to regain control before closing out the 25-20 victory.
Wabash regained its dominant rhythm in the third set, hitting .346 with 13 kills against four errors. The Little Giants limited Olivet to six kills and a .043 attack percentage in the final frame. After a brief early tie, Wabash used a sustained scoring run to separate and never relinquished control, sealing the sweep with a 25-15 decision.
Defensively, Wabash recorded 28 digs compared to 17 for Olivet and capitalized on 20 Olivet attack errors. The Little Giants also held a 37-21 advantage in total kills.
Silas Martin led Olivet with seven kills, while Austin Chamblee added three kills and 11 assists for the Comets.
Wabash will continue MCVL competition Saturday with a road match at Adrian College at noon.
