ALBION, Mich. – Richelle Hawkins served up six aces, one shy of the Albion College record for a four set match, as the Britons started Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association volleyball action with a 25-20, 22-25, 25-8, 25-21 victory over Trine University before an enthusiastic crowd gathered inside Kresge Gymnasium for the home opener.
Hawkins served up three aces during a 10-point run as Albion sprinted out to a 17-4 lead in the fourth set.
Albion forced Trine out of its system the entire fourth set, as it did not commit a hitting error. The Britons posted a .375 hitting percentage with nine kills in 24 attacks in the set.
"One of our goals was to win the serve and pass game, and I think we accomplished that," Albion coach Kristin de St. Aubin said after the Britons improved to 3-2 overall. "We served tougher than I think I've ever seen our team serve.
"Trine is a talented offensive team, and they are pretty good when they are in system," she added. "We had to grab momentum when we could."
Emily Buckelew terminated two points, Hawkins served up an ace, and Trine put up a bad set when out of system as Albion surged to a 9-2 lead in the fourth set. The Britons led 20-11 on Hawkins' ace, but had to hang on as Lindsey DeCamp and Jacqueline Baughman served up long runs for Trine.
Kelsey Gustafson led the Albion offense with 11 kills. Grace VanDorn achieved a double-double of 29 assists and 14 digs in her Kresge Gymnasium debut.
Libero Monica Shuk collected 35 digs to move into third place on Albion's all-time list. She could become Albion's all-time leader Saturday as she is 43 shy of Haley Gitre's total of 1,334. The Britons have two matches Saturday, a MIAA match at Olivet College, followed by a non-league contest against Manchester (Ind.) University.
Get the latest information on the team by following @AlbionVball on Twitter. General athletics news can be found @gobrits on Twitter and Albion College Athletics on Facebook
