TIGERS PICK UP ANOTHER WIN AT HOME TRI-MATCH
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Governors State (0-5) | 13 | 17 | 10 | 0 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) (2-2) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Marian (IN) (3-3) | 25 | 27 | 26 | 3 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) (1-2) | 14 | 25 | 24 | 0 |
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University women's volleyball team tacked on another win with a split at the home ONU tri-match in McHie Arena Friday evening.
After falling 25-14, 27-25, 26-24 in a competitive match against Marian, the No. 21 ranked team in the country, the Tigers rallied with a 25-13, 25-17, 25-10 straight-set victory in a non-conference tilt against Governors State.
The Tigers went toe-to-toe with one of the NAIA's top teams in the opening loss. After dropping the opening set, ONU made some adjustments and came out firing in the second set. Leading 9-7 early, the Tigers strung together six straight points. Halle Nicholas put away four kills in the spurt to give ONU an eight-point advantage.
The No. 21 Knights showed their resilience, however, securing nine of the next 10 points to retake the lead. Both squads traded points until Nicholas hammered down a kill to put the Tigers at set point. Marian would find a way to steal the set three points later.
In a competitive third set, Nicholas put down her 18th kill of the match to give ONU a 23-22 lead. A few moments later, Kaitlyn Kolb notched a kill to force the deuce at 24-24. The Knights, however, secured two quick points to take the set and the match.
Nicholas led all scorers with her 18 kills on an impressive .571 hitting percentage. Hadleigh Loitz tabbed a game-high 27 assists while Ashley Poland led the defensive effort with 11 digs.
The Tigers made quick work of the Governors State Jaguars in the second match of the day, totaling 42 kills on just nine errors en route to a straight-set victory.
Nicholas put away four kills while Loitz and Molly Kurtz each put one away as ONU opened up a commanding 13-5 lead just minutes into the match. Later in the set, a kill from Anna Taylor pushed the Tiger lead to double-digits, and they held the advantage from there.
That momentum carried into the second set in which the Tigers secured the set's first five points. A kill off the hand of Nicholas extended that lead to seven a few points later. The Jaguars mustered a comeback, closing the gap to four at 21-17. But back-to-back kills from Sabrina Sanif and a service ace from Loitz locked down the second set.
The ONU freight train refused to slow down heading into the third set, opening up an 11-point lead right out of the gate. Sanif and Kelsey Todd each had a pair of kills in the stretch that had ONU up 13-2, and they would hold the advantage from there to pick up their second win on the campaign.
The Tigers did little wrong in the decisive third set. They finished with 14 kills on 25 total attacks with zero hitting errors for a sparkling .560 hitting percentage. They had an answer for everything the Jaguars threw at them, limiting them to a -.065 hitting clip.
ONU will look to build on the win as they head over to Palos Heights, Ill., for two matches on Saturday, Aug. 26. They will square off against William Woods at 11 a.m. before facing Auginas at 3 p.m.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu
