This story was written by Bay College SID Mike Pankow

PORT HURON, MI – The Bay College Norse Volleyball Team (2-8) suffered a pair of losses on the road Saturday afternoon.  They were swept by St. Claire Windsor in three sets before Oakland Community College (1-5) earned their first win of the season in a five-set match.

Against St. Claire Windsor the Norse struggled to convert on offense in the first set, picking up four attack errors and converting just three kills.

This allowed the Saints to pick up a 25-20 win in the first set.

Bay bounced back in the second set with a .320 attack percentage, converting 11 kills in 25 attempts.  Piper Monroe (SO, Menominee, MI) led the way with four kills in that set for the Norse, but they would fall short in that set by a score of 25-23.  The Saints used their momentum to dominate the third set, winning by a final of 25-11 to finish the match.

Monroe was strong for the Norse, picking up six kills and a .714 attack percentage.  Olyvia Saxton (SO, Ithaca, MI), Ema Stepien (FR, Crystal Falls, MI), and Addie Morton (FR, Ishpeming, MI) each picked up four kills.  Kayla Swanson (FR, Wallace, MI) had 11 assists and Jade Jasenovsky (FR, Menominee, MI) had 24 digs.

The Norse came out a bit flat in the first set against Oakland Community College in the nightcap as well.  Seven attack errors led to a negative percentage for Bay in the set as they fell 25-18.  Things picked up in the second, but the Owls held on by a score of 26-24 to take a commanding lead in the match.

Bay responded with one of their best offensive performances of the season in the third set.  The team picked up 14 kills in 19 attempts, which was good for a .632 attack percentage.  The Norse won the set by a score of 25-14.  Bay had another strong showing in the fourth set, winning 25-21 to even up the match.  The offense went cold in the final set, as they could only muster five points, falling by a final of 15-5.
 

Monroe and Saxton put together very efficient attacks for Bay in the contest.  Monroe picked up 14 kills with just two errors in 22 attempts, good for a .545 percentage.  She also had 13 total blocks in the match. Saxton converted 15 kills in 24 attempts with just five errors, which was good for a .417 percentage.
 

Swanson picked up 27 assists while Ella Brand (FR, Ishpeming, MI) added ten more. 

Jasenovsky led the defensive effort with 16 digs while Mia Hausser (FR, Wallace, MI) had ten.  Stepien had six total blocks.
 

The Norse will return home to kick off MCCAA Northern Conference play on Tuesday.  Montcalm Community College will make the trip to Escanaba for a match starting at 6:30.