TIGERS FALL SHORT IN FIVE-SET THRILLER AGAINST GSU

UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill. – A late rally from the Olivet Nazarene University women's volleyball team came up short in a 19-25, 23-25, 25-20, 26-24, 16-18 setback at Governors State Tuesday night.

After dropping the first two sets, ONU fought back in the third. Leading 19-17 late, kills from Halle Nicholas and Kaylee Cozen came as part of a four-point run to open some space between the two teams. Molly Kurtz put the finishing touches on the set with a kill to get the Tigers on the board.

ONU used great serving to take control of the fourth set. Two service aces from Cozen and three in a row from Karsyn Delbridge sparked an 8-1 run that put the Tigers up 11-17. Governors State (1-19, 1-10 CCAC) fought back to force a deuce, but an errant Jaguar set allowed Cozen to put down a kill and extend the match to a fifth set.

Tied at 13-13 in the decisive fifth set, Kurtz put down a kill to put the Tigers at match point. But that was followed by a pair of Jaguar points to take the advantage and the momentum. Kurtz and Hadleigh Loitz each fought off GSU match points, but the Jaguars secured the two points needed to take the match.

Nicholas led the team with 16 kills. She was one of three Tigers to finish with double-digit kills. Cozen secured 13 kills and Sabrina Sanif put down 10.

Loitz racked up 40 assists in the five-set loss. Sara Serafimova, who recently won CCAC Defender of the Week honors, led the match with 18 digs. Delbridge added 13.

ONU (10-12, 7-5 CCAC) will stay on the road to face Trinity Christian this Saturday.

--ONU—

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