ONU SWEEPS TRINITY CHRISTIAN ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT

PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. – Coming off a straight set victory over Cardinal Stritch last night, the Olivet Nazarene University women's volleyball went back to work against Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) familiar Trinity Christian College on Wednesday night. 

Down 4-3 early on in the first set, Carleigh Johnson provided the offense for the Tigers picking up a pair of kills and Hadleigh Loitz sent over a service ace to make the score, 7-4. After Trinity Christian retook the lead 11-10, kills from Katarina Nikolic, Rachel Newport, and Anna McGovern gave the Tigers the 14-11 advantage.  The Trolls then came back and tied the set at 15 until Johnson notched a kill to give the Tigers the 16-15 lead.  Late in the set, the Trolls led 24-21 and the Tigers fought back to lead 25-24.  Becca Bell and Johnson notched kills while Mackenzie Coats sent over a service ace.  The Tigers then won two of the final three points to win the first set, 27-25.

Trinity Christian came out firing as they won the first four points.  The Tigers then went on a 5-0 run themselves, highlighted by service ace by Kaitlyn McMahan and a kill by Katarina Nikolic.  The two teams played a close midway of the set until the Trolls took a three-point lead at 16-13.  The Tigers came back and took a 17-16 lead. With ONU down 21-19, they battled back and took the second set, 25-21.  The set ended with an ace from Nikolic and a kill from Bell. 

The Tigers started the third set taking 7 of the first 10 points.  Bell and Johnson supplied the offense for the Tigers in the early going.  The Tigers kept controlling the tempo of the set as they were up by as much as seven points.  After the Trolls cut the lead to two at 9-7, Newport, Nikolic, and Skinner all marked kills and extended the Tiger lead to 13-7.  Two points is the closest the Trolls got in the third set.

The Tigers ended up defeating the Trolls, 25-18, in the third set and took the match in straight sets. 

GAME VITALS

Finals: First Set: ONU 27, TCC 25 | Second Set: ONU 25, TCC 21 | Third Set: ONU 25, TCC 18

Records: Olivet Nazarene University: 13-5 (9-2 CCAC) | Trinity Christian College: 5-11 (3-8 CCAC)

Location: DeVos Gym | Trinity Christian College | Palos Heights, Ill.

QUICK HITS

• Johnson led the Tigers with nine kills, while Bell followed with eight.
• Both Johnson and Bell hit .333
• Nikolic and Newport each amassed six kills.
• Loitz led the Tigers with 16 assists, while Skinner marked 15
• McMahan led the Tigers with 22 digs. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers welcome the Trojans of Trinity International to McHie Arena on Tuesday, October 12.  The opening service is set for 7 p.m.

--ONU—

*Contact: Sam Viebrock, Sports Information Director, stviebrock@olivet.edu