ONU SPLITS WEEKEND SERIES AGAINST BETHEL, No. 7 BENEDICTINE MESA

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. –  The Olivet Nazarene University men's volleyball team split a pair of games this weekend, toppling Bethel (Ind.) 3-1 on the road Friday evening in Gates Gymnasium before falling in straight sets to No. 7 Benedictine Mesa in McHie Arena Saturday afternoon.

Jaiton Kamaunu supplied the majority of the firepower for the Tigers in their 28-26, 17-25, 25-21, 25-20 win over the Pilots to open the weekend, hammering down a season-high 16 kills on a .538 hitting percentage. The senior outside hitter committed just two attack errors on 26 attempts and added a team-leading nine digs defensively.

And he came up big down the stretch to help secure the first set of the match. Trailing 23-22, Kamaunu ripped off back-to-back kills to get the Tigers to match point. A pair of ONU errors put the Pilots back in front, but a Kahaku Marquez solo block followed by a Kamaunu ace gave ONU the lead. The Tigers would close out the set a few points later.

Bethel (5-3) responded with a strong second set to even the score, but late runs in the third and fourth sets helped secure the match for the Tigers.

Kamaunu broke a 21-21 tie late in the third set with back-to-back kills before closing the set with another kill. In the decisive fourth set, three consecutive Pilot errors gave the Tigers a 23-19 lead before Kamaunu notched a kill to put the Tigers at match point. Will Byers and Marquez put the finishing touches on the with a block to collect the win.

 Brody McAfee chipped in eight kills in the winning effort. Marquez supplied six kills. Jackson Harvey and Cade Ooms provided four kills apiece, with the former controlling the net with six blocks. Tomas Gonzalez (18) and Byers (17) both tallied double-digit assists.

The offensive power failed to translate into Saturday's tilt against Benedictine Mesa, falling in straight sets 26-24, 25-16, 25-19.

The Tigers pushed the No. 7 ranked team in the nation to extra points in the opening set. Harvey sparked a late run with a kill followed by a Tyler Van Laten ace to have the Tigers ahead 22-21 late. But the RedHawks (7-2) showed why they are one of the NAIA's best scoring six of the next eight points to take the first set. The Tigers couldn't get much going in the following two sets.

Serving proved to be the costly factor in the loss, with the Tigers giving away 17 points in service errors. In contrast, the RedHawks committed just six errors on serves.

McAfee led the Tigers with 15 kills on a .344-hitting percentage. Marquez and Harvey both tallied five kills. Gonzalez finished with 20 assists.

The Tigers will stay home to host Governors State Friday.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu