TIGERS MAKE QUICK WORK OF BEES; PICK UP FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose (IA) (9-10, 3-3) | 15 | 25 | 23 | 0 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) (6-6, 4-2) | 25 | 27 | 25 | 3 |
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University women's volleyball team improved to 6-6 overall and 4-2 in the CCAC with a 25-15, 27-25, 25-23 straight-set victory over St. Ambrose Thursday night in McHie Arena.
The Tigers set the tone in the first period, putting down 12 kills to just one hitting error en route to their fourth straight victory.
ONU got some help to start the match, with St. Ambrose (9-10, 3-3 CCAC) committing five errors in the opening. And when Kelsey Todd hammered home a kill, the Tigers led 7-2 right out of the gate. The lead ballooned to as many as 10 after Halle Nicholas secured three straight kills, and the Tigers took the opening set handily.
The Fighting Bees, who were qualifiers to last season's NAIA National Tournament, flipped a switch in the second, owning the momentum and building a 21-13 lead late in the period. That was when the Tigers opened up a six-point run, largely in part to some excellent serving by Malia Harris, who secured three aces in the stretch that cut the lead down to two.
A few points later, the Bees were sitting at set point until the Tigers rattled off four straight to force the deuce and take the advantage. Todd and Sabrina Sanif teamed up to house a block and take a commanding 2-0 lead.
With the third set tied at 11-11, ONU pieced together four consecutive points to take the lead. Hadleigh Loitz and Todd put down back-to-back kills to cap the spurt that gave the Tigers a lead they would hold for the remainder of the match.
Nicholas had a match-high 18 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. Kaylee Cozen put down six, Todd had five, and Molly Kurtz contributed four.
Loitz finished with a double-double, racking up 27 assists and 13 digs. Sara Serafimova paced the Tigers with a team-high 22 digs.
The Tigers will look to keep their win streak alive on the road at Calumet this Saturday in Whiting, Ind., with the match set to begin at 2 p.m. CST.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu
