TIGERS DEFEAT CALUMET 3-1 TO EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO EIGHT MATCHES

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University men's volleyball program defeated the Crimson Wave of Calumet 3-1 this afternoon in McHie Arena. Cade Ooms tallied a season-high 15 kills and 17.0 points to lead the team. ONU is still riding a winning streak extended to eight games with the victory at home.

The Tigers traded the first two sets with CSJU before claiming the final two to end the match. The combination of a 5-0 run to start the first set followed shortly by an 8-1 run saw the home team build a 15-4 advantage. Kills recorded by Jake Ostema and Jaiton Kamaunu with the assists provided by Tomas Gonzalez down the stretch put Olivet up 1-0 in the match. Calumet would respond in the next set to tie up the match score 1-1. They benefitted from three consecutive service aces within their 5-0 run to end the second set on a score of 25-16.

ONU needed extra rallies to regain the match lead in the third set.  Calumet fought off two set points to level the score at 24-24 forcing head coach Daniel Cabrera to call a timeout. Out of the break, Olivet's Ooms provided back-to-back kills set up by Gonzales to regain the lead in the contest after a 26-24 third-set score.

Calumet would not go away as they began the final set strong jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the fourth. Ooms and the Tigers responded with a 10-2 run to erase the deficit and build an 18-12 lead. The Crimson Wave made one last run at extending the match. They sparked a 5-1 run at the tail end of the set while seeing off three match points before ultimately falling 25-19.

QUICK HITS

• Thoralf Schmelzer extended his double-digit kill streak to four games with 14 on the day.
• ONU assist leader, Gonzales totaled 38 set-ups for the match.
• James Balance recorded 10 digs in back-to-back matches for the first time this season.
• Gonzalez served a season-high four aces for 11 on the year.
• Kamaunu led the Tigers with four of their 12 total blocks; Ostema and Kahaku Marquez tallied three each.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Tiger will welcome Judson to McHie arena for a two-versus-three matchup in the conference standings. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT next Tuesday. Please visit ONUTigers.com for more information and for the live links to follow along.

--ONU—

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