ADRIAN, Mich. – Albion College hit .414 in breezing to the early lead in the match, but the Britons hit .070 the remainder of the contest in falling to Adrian College (25-13, 20-25, 13-25, 27-29) in four sets Tuesday night.
Albion scored the first four points of the night with Ami Milligan serving. Helped by a service ace, Albion scored five points on Angela Adams' serve as the Britons held a 10-point lead, 17-7, in the first set. Stephanie Thurner assisted on blocks on the final two points of the set.
Lauren Outwater terminated the point as Albion forged a tie at 20 in the second set. The Britons gave up kills to Olivia Welch and Sydney Martine and committed three hitting errors as Adrian ripped off the final five points needed to pull even in the match.
Welch served up an ace during Adrian's 5-0 run to start the fourth set.
Outwater terminated consecutive points and Adams served an ace as Albion surged to a 7-2 lead in the fourth set. Monica Shuk served aces on consecutive points and Marie Pregenzer terminated a point as Albion extended the lead to 20-11.
Albion's lead melted to 20-17 as Welch terminated a couple of points and Martines was in on the block for two points.
Outwater led Albion with 11 kills, but Taylor Rosenthal was most effective with nine kills in 25 attacks (for a .320 hitting percentage). Mackenzie Moore, who had the hot hand early with five kills and three blocks in the first set, finished the night with seven kills and five blocks.
Setter Ami Milligan dished out 39 assists, moving her all-time school record total to 2,561.
Shuk, the sophomore libero, collected 29 digs. That moves her season total to 396, fifth-most at Albion. Her career total stands at 962.
Welch produced 12 kills, 20 digs and two block assists for Adrian. She received support from Margo Joubran who finished with 11 kills and 14 digs.
Albion, which had its three-match win streak snapped, fell to 11-8 overall and it completed the first round of Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association action at 2-6. The Britons will play their next three at home, starting with a Friday match against Calvin College, the top-ranked team in Division III. The first serve is set for 6:30 p.m.