ALBION, Mich. – The Manchester University volleyball team was able to grind out a 30-28 first set victory, however, the host Albion Britons were able to rally past the Spartans in the second, third, and fourth sets for a 3-1 victory on Wednesday night.

The Britons claimed the second, third, and fourth sets by scores of 25-18, 25-16, and 25-11.

The Spartans took the marathon first set after hitting .237 as a unit. After the opening set, the Spartans' offense slowed as MU hit only .111, .114, and -.069 in sets two through four.

Albion's offense was tough to counter as the Britons hit .290 in Wednesday's match.

Manchester was led by Halle Planck's (Gas City, Ind./Mississinewa) 11 kills. Sara Shultz (Churubusco, Ind./East Noble) added 8 kills and a team-leading .368 hitting percentage.

Carly Ripberger (Tipton, Ind./Tipton) tallied 31 assists on the evening while Rachael Ressler (Tipton, Ind./Tipton) posted a team-leading 18 digs. Helaina Walters (Marion, Ind./Eastbrook) had 5 service aces.

Albion got double-digit kills from Kaylynne Nicholson (15) and Olivia Alexander (14).

Manchester (3-2) will head to Cincinnati, Ohio this weekend for the Mount St. Joseph Invitational. The Black & Gold will take on Greenville and Anderson on Friday evening before facing off against Mount St. Joseph and Wilmington on Saturday morning.

Albion moved to 4-1 with the victory.