Box Score Playing four matches with a 24 hour stretch can be daunting. The John Carroll University volleyball team battled but fell in four tightly contested sets to Buffalo State, who was playing its first match of the day, to conclude play at the 15th Annual Marcia French Memorial Invitational.

With the 25-27, 23-25, 26-24, 27-29 loss the Blue Streaks fall to 5-4 on the season.

After Buffalo State battled back to tie the score at 24 in the fourth set the Blue Streaks dug in and warded off three match points before Sarah Horvath's kill won the match for the Bengals.

Sarah Orlandi continued to play well for the Blue Streaks drawing praise from head coach Laura Rodeffer.

"She can be really good," said Rodeffer. "She's very long, very physical. She's got a high contact point and she can hit a variety of sets. Our passing is going to determine how much of an option she's going to be for us."

The sophomore notched 19 kills on 42 swings with just two errors to lead the attack. Alex Ehrett and Leah Switalski each added 11 kills. Sara Kaminski led five plays with double digit digs with 32. The libero added four aces in the contest.

Both teams traded points in the first set which featured 14 ties. Kills by Ehrett and Orlandi momentarily gave JCU the lead at 7-4 but the Bengals maintained their composure to take control at the midway point of the set. A Buffalo State service error let the Blue Streaks get back in the set but John Carroll could not keep the momentum to take the set. Kit O'Shaughnessy nearly had a double-double in the first set with 12 assists and eight digs.

The hitters heated up in the second set with both teams hitting above the .300 mark. Despite only recording one hitting error in the set, the Blue Streaks were unable to put together a run of any sorts as Buffalo State was able to stay ahead from the 7-6 mark to the end of the set.

John Carroll finally found some momentum towards the end of the third set. Down 21-17 and faced with the possibility of being swept, the Blue Streaks dug in led by a well-timed block by Alexa Webber and Leah Switalski. Two kills by Orlandi gave the set to the Blue Streaks.

Long rallies quickly became the norm for the fourth set as neither team caved in an inch. Kaminski and Orlandi worked tirelessly with 13 digs and seven kills in the set respectively to keep the Blue Streaks in the match. Two kills by Switalski and one from Ehrett saved off
match points. Out of subs, Ehrett, who typically does not play back row, added two monster digs at the end of the set.

Kaminski was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 7.31 digs per set during the tournament. The sophomore libero also served up eight aces in 16 sets.

John Carroll travels to Dennison University for a mid-week tilt on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.