Oilers Fall in First Two Matches of 2022 Season
Indianapolis, Ind. – The University of Findlay volleyball team kicked off the 2022 season with a pair of matches at the University of Indianapolis Invite on Friday, Aug. 26. Findlay's first match ended in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 26-24) loss at the hands of the McKendree Bearcats while the nightcap ended in a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-17) loss to the Wayne State Warriors. With the losses, the Oilers start the season 0-2.
The first match against McKendree started in a big way for Findlay, who jumped out to an 8-2 lead early on. However, an 8-2 run by the Bearcats tied the first set up at 10. From then on, the match was controlled by McKendree who went on to sweep the match in three sets.
Findlay's matchup with Wayne State was much more closely contested in the first couple of sets as the teams were only separated by more than three points on one occasion, aside from the set-winning points. In the third, the Warriors jumped out to an 8-4 lead, ultimately going on to win the final set 25-17, giving the Oilers a second three-set loss on the day.
Sophomore Journey Blevins, last year's Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Freshman of the Year, led the offensive attack with 30 kills on the day, 14 in the first match and 16 in the second. She also had 11 digs on the day.
Freshman Alana Pohlman made her Oilers debut with 12 kills on the day, six in each of the two matches. Her hitting percentage of .478 on Friday led Findlay. Pohlman was also tied with senior Emma Meyer for a team-leading five blocks on the day.
Freshman Emma White led the way with 24 combined digs while junior Alissa Rhodes had 18.
Findlay will wrap up their trip to Indianapolis tomorrow with a single match against the University of Indianapolis at 4:00 pm.