On Saturday, the Kenyon volleyball team smoked the College of Wooster 3-0 in its first conference matchup of the season. The game was also sponsored by Minority Athletes at Kenyon. Then, on Wednesday, the Owls pummeled Wilmington College at their Dig Pink game three sets to one. The win improves their overall record to 3-13.
Kenyon was off to a fiery start on Saturday, with 17 kills in the first set. The Owls garnered an early 7-0 lead thanks to kills from Juliette Tomamichel ’26, Hannah Schwemm ’27 and Mariyah Rumpca-Veronese ’28. However, the Fighting Scots didn’t go down easily and responded with a strong comeback to even the score. After an intense back and forth, the Owls emerged victorious, 25-23, to take the early advantage.
The second set began with more seesaw action between the two teams. Olivia Gumz ’27 secured a kill for the Owls to start a streak of offensive play that resulted in a 16-10 lead. Following a series of bad sets, attack errors and service errors from Wooster, the Owls once again took advantage and soared to victory, winning set two 25-18 and putting themselves in position for a sweep.
The third set saw similar play to the first two, with fairly even scoring early on. The Owls increased their lead with kills from Rumpca-Veronese and Kendall Kirkbride ’29 to go up 14-12. A few points later, Sophia Menke ’27 slammed two kills in a row, followed by Rumpca-Veronese with three straight kills of her own. The Owls were on a roll, and finished off the set with another kill from Schwemm, securing the 3-0 win. Overall, Kenyon recorded 42 kills to Wooster’s 31, with 30 assists to the Fighting Scots’ 27. The Owls also garnered 63 digs, seven more than their opponent.
Anna Flota ’27 was ecstatic about winning their opening conference game. “It was amazing to see everything we have been working on for weeks connect,” she wrote in an email to the Collegian.
Building off of Saturday’s victory, the Owls looked to pick up another win this Wednesday as they battled the Wilmington Quakers. The first set highlighted Kenyon’s strong offense. Kills from Menke, Joy Carstanjen ’26 and Rumpca-Veronese sent the Owls flying ahead 6-1. Despite the Quakers’ attempts to overtake Kenyon, the Owls locked down defensively, winning 25-13. After much tighter play, Kenyon pulled through once again in the second set 25-21. Wilmington bounced back to win the next set 25-18, but Kenyon swept the last set 25-20, securing a 3-1 win.
In addition to the exciting outcome, the game meant more to the team than adding a tally to their overall wins. “Dig Pink is a chance for our sport to give back to the community that supports us,” said Flota. “Around one in eight women will get diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and with raised awareness, these women are more likely to find it in time.”
Up next, Kenyon will hit the road to face Wittenberg University on Saturday.