NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Carleton volleyball team claimed an opening set win, but could not hold off a resilient surge from visiting Macalester College, dropping a 3-1 decision (25-19, 17-25, 17-25, 20-25) in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) action on Wednesday evening at West Gym
. With the setback, the Knights move to 14-10 overall and 5-4 in MIAC play, while the Scots improve to 8-15 overall and 3-6 in conference competition.
Carleton came out firing in the opening frame, hitting .316 with 17 kills. Locked in a tight battle early, the Knights took control midway through the set with a 6-0 run on senior Rachel Bingham's serve. Junior Ellewyn Swafford sparked the run with consecutive kills before a Bingham ace, and pair of kills from sophomore Aditi Mukhirala to build a 10-6 cushion. Tied 17-17 in the late stages of the frame, Carleton closed out the set scoring eight of the final 10 points, capping the 25-19 victory with a kill from first-year Alexis Ormsby off a set from senior setter Megan Smith.
Macalester responded in set two, hitting .244 with 16 kills to level the match. The Knights led 8-6 early, but the Scots engineered a 10-2 surge to gain a 16-11 advantage. Carleton trimmed the gap to two at 17-15 following an Ormsby putaway and a Bingham kill, but Macalester halted the comeback by winning eight of the final 10 points to secure a 25-17 set win.
The Scots carried their momentum into the third frame, establishing early control behind a 5-1 push served by Lizzie Joo to lead 5-2. Trailing 15-10, Carleton battled back within one point at 6-15 following three kills from Swafford and a Mukhirala ace, but Macalester countered with a decisive set-ending 9-2 run to seal the 25-17 win for the Scots.
Carleton surged out to a fast 5-0 lead in the fourth frame on Raffaella Gardner's serve—keyed by two service aces and two Jennifer Bricker kills. Macalester steadily chipped away, tying the set at 7-7 before taking advantage of two service aces by Ella Cohen-Richie during a three-point spurt to lead 12-9. Trailing 22-15, the Knights made a late 5-1 push on junior Madeleine Dimitre's serve, forcing two Scots errors to cut the deficit to 23-20. However, Macalester answered a kill and a match-clinching service ace to take the set 25-20 and finalize the 3-1 match decision.
Rachel Bingham anchored the Carleton attack with a double-double, recording a match-high 20 kills alongside 15 digs and two block assists. Ellewyn Swafford added 11 kills and led the defensive effort at the net with a match-high seven total blocks (one solo). Aditi Mukhirala chipped in nine kills and a team-high 20 digs, while libero Madeleine Dimitre gathered 19 digs. Megan Smith and Raffaella Gardner each tallied double-figure assists with 21 and 16, respectively. Gardner also had a match-high four service aces.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will be back in action at West Gym on Saturday night when the Knights host St. Catherine University in their final home match of the season at 7pm.
