TIGERS DOWN CALUMET 3-1 ON THE ROAD

WHITING, Ind. – Thoralf Schmelzer ties a program record with 21 kills as the Tigers defeated the Calumet Crimson Wave (4-4, 3-4 CCAC) on the road Thursday night 3-1. The freshman outside hitter finished with 23.5 points from 36 total attacks. The victory is number 10 on the year for ONU and have improved to 5-1 in the conference to sit at third in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Standings.

The Tigers trailed 16-19 before a Tyler Rickert kill sparked an ONU 6-0 to regain the lead. Calumet survived two set points to tie the score at 25-25 and force extra rallies. Cade Ooms converted the vital kill to force the third and final set-point of the set with a block by Ooms assisted by Jake Ostema and Tomas Gonzalez gave Olivet the early 1-0 lead in the match.

ONU carried the momentum from the first set to jump out to a 4-0 lead to start the second. Ooms' service in the run included an ace and saw a block from Ostema assisted by Jaiton Kamaunu. The Tigers built a nine-point lead late in the set following a Schmelzer kill with an assist from James Ballance. They would hold on and score the final three points from two Ostema and Tomas Gonzalez blocks to increase their match lead to 2-0.

Calumet would not go down without a fight to force a fourth set in the match. Olivet looked to be in control with a 23-17 lead following an Ooms kill. The Crimson Wave would respond with an 8-1 run and force a set point at 25-24 after seeing off four consecutive match points. Calumet would extend the night with a service ace and claim their first set of the night, 27-25.

The Purple and Yellow-Gold needed extra points for the third time of the night to win the match. A tightly contested final set saw the two ball clubs tied the score 18 times. The Tigers led 4-0 to start the set but neither team built a lead by more than two after the score was tied 5-5. The visitors held match-point twice before CSJU converted two consecutive kills to hold set-point at 27-26, but ONU Would respond with two blocks and a Schmelzer kills to leave Whiting with the victory.

QUICK HITS

• As a team, ONU could register 29 blocks to CSJU's 12.
• Ostema and Gonzalez set new season highs with 8 and 7 total blocks respectively.
• Schmelzer and Ooms both tallied 9 digs, a season-high for Schmelzer.
• Gonzalez doled out 41 assists on the night totaling 97 over his last two matches.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Tigers will return home next Tuesday, Feb. 28, to host Cardinal Stritch in McHie Arena. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m. CT. Please visit ONUTigers.com for all the updated links to follow along.

--ONU—

*Contact: Patrick Kaindl; Sports Information Graduate Assistant, email pkaindl@olivet.edu