OBERLIN, OH – Hosting their annual home invitational, the Oberlin College volleyball team fell to John Carroll (21-25, 15-25, 25-18, 19-25) in their first game, before finishing the day on a high note with a win against Alma (25-16, 28-26, 22-25, 25-23). Claiming their first victory of the season, the squad moves to 1-4 overall behind.

Genna Gauthier, Evelyn Welton, and Makela Reid all made their season debuts in split. Gauthier tallied 27 assists, following Jillian Jendsen's team-high 56 assists. 

Zeynep Kaya highlighted the attack, tallying a team-best 29 kills, while Cami Sweet continued her streak of multi-block games with three solos and four assists. On the defensive side of the ball, Iris Archibald collected 35 digs in addition to her eight aces.

Game two saw an especially balanced attack, with Julia Hall, Welton, Sweet and Kaya all finishing in double figures.

The first set against JCU saw the two foes fight point-for-point, with neither team taking more than a two-point lead. Down 20-16, Sweet led the Crimson and Gold to a heroic comeback to claim a one-point lead. The momentum would fall just short however, as JCU regrouped for the final points and the first set win.

With the energy on the side of John Carroll, the Blue Streaks claimed the second set, 25-15, to take a 2-0 lead over Oberlin. Facing defeat, the Yeowomen rallied in the third set, highlighted by a six-point run that included four-straight aces from Archibald.

The Crimson and Gold rally came up short in the fourth set after they fell behind 17-10. John Carroll rode out the lead through the rest of the match to secure a 3-1 victory.

Taking pause to recover, Oberlin next appeared on court for their second game of the day, this time against Alma. The Yeowomen got off to a hot start, grabbing the first set by storm in 25-16 fashion. With a trio of kills, Hall paced the squad through a 10-4 to cap the set.

It was a back-and-forth battle in the second set that saw 17 ties and the score go into extra points. Tied at 26-26, rookie classmates Gauthier set up Welton to clear the net for a spike to give Oberlin set point. After the Scots called a timeout, the Yeowomen kept their foot on the gas as Welton again was set up by Kaya to scorch the Scots and take the second set. 

With just one set separating the Crimson and Gold from their first season victory, Jendsen connected with Sweet for the first point. The set was nearly accounted for with Oberlin down 23-16, but the home team scored seven straight to come back within attacking distance. After a thrilling run, Alma cut the run and capped the set at 25-23.

Oberlin got off to a rocky start in the fourth set, falling behind 12-6 as the Scots built momentum. Subbing in and bringing new life to the offense, Makela Reid made her season debut and connected with Macdonald for a pair of points to turn the page for the Crimson and Gold. Tying the game at 16-16, Kaya and Hall combined for the next trio of points to give Oberlin their largest lead of the match at 19-15. Oberlin rolled from then on and at the end of a kill by Hall, the Crimson and Gold claimed their first victory of the season.

Of her first win as a head coach, and at Oberlin, Head Coach Jasmine Brown commented, "I feel phenomenal and I feel very supported. We couldn't have done this without the staff and team, who bought into everything we've done throughout the preseason." Brown continues, "As much as I could say this is my first win, in reality this is our first win." 

The Yeowomen cap off the Oberlin Invite with their next match tomorrow, Saturday, September 7, when they take on Washington & Jefferson. The Crimson and Gold and the Presidents are set to begin at approximately 3 p.m.

Fans can watch all the home matches live online. Home contests can be accessed on a TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.