Sandusky, Ohio - The Oberlin College volleyball team opened their 2025 campaign with a pair of matches on Friday evening at the Great Lakes Crossover tournament at Cedar Point Sports Center. The Crimson and Gold dropped their first match of the day in straight sets (25-15, 25-21, 25-21) to the St. Mary's College Belles before falling to the Alma College Scots (28-26, 25-15, 25-18).

"We had a ton of great individual performances today, notably from our newcomers who made their Oberlin debuts," Head Volleyball Coach Jasmine Brown remarks. "We had great energy on the court and we're going to continue to build upon this momentum." 

GAME ONE | St. Mary's

Emerging as a strong force in her collegiate debut, first-year Mara Geiger paced the Oberlin offense, producing nearly half of the Crimson and Gold's kills of the match by tallying 17. Senior Josie Macdonald posted a double-double with ten kills and ten digs while also notching a match-high three service aces. 

Senior Jillian Jendsen and sophomore Genna Gauthier split the role as the setter, registering 15 and 14 assists, respectively. Returning as the libero for the Crimson and Gold, senior Iris Archibald launched the season with 18 digs. 

St. Mary's controlled the advantage in the first set, capitalizing on an early 3-0 lead from the opening serve. Oberlin set a strong offensive stage with ten out of their 15 points resulting from kills, but a consistent Belles force secured the first set. 

Tied at 4-4 in the second stanza, a 5-1 surge from the Crimson and Gold was highlighted by kills from Brylie Peters, Geiger, and Lucy Goebel to claim a 7-4 edge. Maintaining the advantage at 17-14 after a pair of kills from Macdonald, a six-point run allowed St. Mary's to overtake the lead, which they preserved for the remainder of the set. 

The Belles jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the third frame. Behind 10-4, a successful Oberlin force of kills, aces, and blocks reduced the margin to 11-9, allowing the Crimson and Gold to regain momentum. Holding a narrow disadvantage at 21-20, St. Mary's responded with a five-point rally to capture the match victory. 

GAME TWO | ALMA

Oberlin secured an early 7-1 advantage, led by a trio of aces from Geiger and a pair of kills from Peters. Alma dished out a steady effort to reduce their deficit to 23-19, followed by a 6-1 force from the Scots to allow them to regain the lead at 25-24. A resilient Crimson and Gold brought the score to 26-26, however Alma notched the next two points to claim the first set. 

Holding a slight 11-10 disadvantage in the second session, the Scots recorded a six-point rally to claim a 16-11 lead, which they were able to maintain for the remainder of the set. Jumping out to a 6-3 edge in the third set, capped off with an ace from Gauthier, a seven-point run from Alma secured the lead for the Scots. Behind 15-9, the Crimson and Gold dished out a five-point surge highlighted by a trio of aces from Jendsen to reduce the margin to 15-13, but Alma was able to control the set to claim the match. 

Peters and Macdonald paced the Oberlin attack with nine and six kills, respectively, while Jendsen delivered 17 assists. 

The Crimson and Gold will continue their weekend tomorrow at Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky, Ohio, on Saturday, August 30, with an 8 a.m. match against Kalamazoo College and a 10 a.m. dual against Washington and Jefferson College. 

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