TIGERS TAKE DOWN BEES IN CCAC QUARTERFINAL

BOURBONNAIS, IL. – Olivet Nazarene University's men's volleyball team wasted no time setting the tone for the postseason, dispatching the visiting St. Ambrose Fighting Bees in straight sets on Tuesday night in the first round of the CCAC Tournament.

ONU came out firing on all cylinders in the first set, overwhelming St. Ambrose with a relentless offensive attack. The Tigers' offense, led by the dynamic duo of Brody McAfee and Cade Ooms was nearly unstoppable. McAfee put down a team-high 18 kills, while Ooms chipped in with 13 kills of his own. Setter Tomas Gonzalez (5 kills, 47 assists) orchestrated the attack flawlessly, distributing the ball with precision and keeping the Tigers in system throughout the set. The ONU defense was equally impressive, with middle blocker Patrick Ray leading the charge at the net. Ray's presence was a constant thorn in the side of the St. Ambrose hitters, racking up 5 kills and 3 assisted blocks. ONU dominated the net, recording a scorching .533 hitting percentage, while holding the Bees to a mere .192 clip. The Tigers cruised to a convincing 25-14 victory in the opening set.

The second set proved to be a much tighter affair. The Fighting Bees hung tough with the Tigers, battling point-for-point and even forcing a deuce at 24-24. However, ONU displayed remarkable composure down the stretch. With the score tied at 25-25, back to back kills by Gonzalez and Ooms error sealed the deal for the Tigers, giving them a hard-fought 27-25 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The momentum remained firmly on ONU's side in the third set. The Tigers built a comfortable lead early on and never looked back. They continued to pepper the St. Ambrose court with a relentless attack, forcing the Bees into errors. A St. Ambrose error closed out the set at 25-20, securing a dominant 3-0 victory for ONU.

Looking Ahead

With this win, the Tigers advance to the semifinals of the CCAC Tournament, where they'll face a familiar foe: Calumet St. Joseph. The rematch is set for April 19th, on the campus of St. Xavier University. The gametime has yet to be determined.

--ONU—

*Contact Anyssa Hampton, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, ahampton@olivet.edu