ONU MAKES HISTORY IN STRAIGHT SETS VICTORY OVER ROOSEVELT

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University men's volleyball team won its first Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) and home match in program history as they defeated the Lakers of Roosevelt University in straight sets on Thursday evening. 

The Lakers took an early 4-3 lead in the first set of action but the Tigers went on a roll.  A service ace by James Ballance and three kills by Collier Kahaku Marquez spearheaded a 6-1 run as the Tigers opened a 9-5 lead.  At 12-9, a pair of kills from Jaiton Kamaunu and a kill from Sterling Staranchuk grew the Tiger lead to 16-9.  The Lakers then went on a 6-1 run of their own and closed the gap to 17-15. 

The Tigers closed out the set scoring eight straight points and took the first set, 25-15.  Kahaku Marquez marked a pair of kills while Balance added a service ace. 

The Tigers got off to a hot start in the second as they led 7-2.  Due to an injury on the Roosevelt side, the Tigers won the second set by default.  The score at the time was 11-7. 

The third set was highly contested throughout with both teams vying for control.  Kills by Kahaku Marquez, Bradyn Zula, and Staranchuk made the score 4-3, ONU, in the early going.  Roosevelt then jumped out to a 12-9 lead.  The Tigers and Lakers found themselves tied at 15 until Roosevelt took over and led 19-16.  ONU then went on a 4-0 run and made the score 20-19.  Kahaku Marquez recorded a kill during that stretch. 

The two teams saw three ties down the stretch, but the Tigers pulled out a 25-23 third set victory to take the match in straight sets. 

MATCH VITALS

First Set: ONU 25, RU 15 | Second Set: ONU 11, RU 7 (Default) | Third Set: ONU 25, RU 23

Records: Olivet Nazarene: 3-16 (1-3 CCAC) | Roosevelt: 0-11 (0-4 CCAC)

Location: McHie Arena | Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais, Ill.

QUICK HITS

• Kahaku Marquez led the Tigers with 13 kills and Kamaunu and Staranchuk followed with six and five, respectively. 
• Garrett Schad and Hunter DiMello recorded 11 and 10 assists, respectively. 
• Ballance notched 11 digs, while Zula and Kamaunu tallied nine and eight digs, respectively. 
• The Tigers won their first home match in program history as well as their first CCAC win. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers travel to Milwaukee, Wis. to compete against the Wolves of Cardinal Stritch on Tuesday, March 1st.  The opening service is set for 7 p.m.

--ONU—

*Contact: Sam Viebrock, Sports Information Director, stviebrock@olivet.edu