TIGERS DROP RV IU-KOKOMO IN DRAMATIC FASHION

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University women's volleyball team took a five-set thriller in the ONU Holiday Inn Tournament finale against the RV Cougars of Indiana University Kokomo on Saturday night in McHie Arena.

The Tigers jumped to an early two-sets lead after more than doubling up the Cougars in kills, 33-14, and holding IU-Kokomo to under at .200 hitting percentage in each period. The turning point in the first set was after it was knotted up at 10-10, the Tigers went on a run taking 8 out of 10 points. Katarina Nikolic and Rachel Newport had consecutive kills to take the first set, 25-17.

The second set got off to a strong start for Olivet. Sutton Bate tallied three kills in a 5-1 stretch early on. Another run sparked from Hadleigh Loitz's service pushed the lead even further and forcing IU Kokomo into a timeout with the score at 11-3. An Anna McGovern kill set up by Loitz ended the second period 25-14.

A thrilling third set seemed to have turned the tide of the match. ONU faced three straight set-points that were fought off with three straight kills from Nikolic to extend the match and force the Cougars into a timeout. The Tigers forced two match-set points at 26-25 and 29-29, but could not hang on losing it 31-29.

A rejuvenated IU-Kokomo side stormed out of the gates in the fourth set rolling to a 25-14 win and evening the match to two-apiece.

The winner-take-all fifth set saw the Tigers dug deep at the very last to take the match. The Cougars blazed to a 10-4 lead to kick it off. Service performances from Carleigh Johnson and Kaitlyn McMahan willed the purple and gold to a dramatic comeback. This time, ONU had to fight off six match-set points. A kill from Sutton to make it 16-15, and two IU-Kokomo errors off the service from Reaghan Bible ended the proceeding and completed the upset.

 GAME VITALS

Final: First Set: ONU 25, RV IUK 17 | Second Set: ONU 25, RV IUK 14 | Third Set: RV IUK 31, ONU 29 | Fourth Set: RV IUK 25, ONU 14 | Fifth Set: ONU 18, RV IUK 16

Records: Olivet Nazarene: 8-5 (4-2 CCAC) | RV IU-Kokomo: 11-7 (3-1 RSC)

Location: McHie Arena | Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais, Ill.

QUICK HITS

• McMahan turned in a team-high 29 digs. 
• Nikolic tallied a game-high 16 kills.
• Janelle Skinner finished with 29 assists.
• Bate hit .375 to lead all players.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers travel to face Saint Francis (Ill.) in Joliet as they continue conference play on Tuesday, September 28.  The opening serve is set for 7 p.m.  Please visit onutigers.com for the most updated information. 

--ONU—

*Contact: Patrick Kaindl, Sports Information GA, pkaindl@olivet.edu