TIGERS TOP THE EAGLES AT HOME 3-1

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University men's volleyball program set a season-high with 62 total kills as a team in a 3-1 win over Judson Tuesday night. Thoralf Schmelzer led all active players with 20 kills while Jake Ostema and Cade Ooms provided 15 and 10 kills respectively in the win. The win over the third-place Eagles moves ONU into the sole position of second in the conference, just a half match behind Saint Xavier, with a 9-1 record in the CCAC.

The Tigers won the first two sets of the night. Schmelzer was credited with the set-winning point in the opening set with the kill setup by Thomas Gonzalez. Gonzalez assisted the final point n the second set as well and the setter finished the night with a game-high 49 assists. He now totals 400 assists on the year averaging 9.76 per set.

Judson avoided the sweep by winning the third set. Kahaku Marquez leveled the score at 23-23 with a kill. It was the 15^th and final tie of the set before JU claimed the final two points.

The Tigers were given all they could handle as the Eagle forced extra rallies in the final set. Olivet held match point three times before closing the deal. Cade Ooms finished off the match with his 10^th kill of the night to win it 27-25.

The Purple and Yellow-Gold overcame 18 service errors and 20 Judson blocks in the victory. The Tigers held the opposition to just a .153 hitting percentage and 21 kills total. James Ballance got the job done defensively with 14 total digs bringing his season total to a team-leading 141.

WHAT'S NEXT

 ONU will embark on a Spring Break trip to Arizona for a three-match series at the end of the week. They will play a doubleheader Thursday, March 9, at the Coyote Fitness Center in Chandler, Ariz. They will play Park-Gilbert at 3 p.m. CT followed by Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) at 8 p.m. CT. Please visit onutigers.com for the links to follow along.

--ONU—

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