TIGERS SALVAGE WEEKEND TOURNAMENT WITH 3-0 WIN OVER LOURDES

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Three Tigers reached double figures in kills to lead the Olivet Nazarene University women's volleyball team past Lourdes in the final match of the Liz Lyiowski Tournament Saturday afternoon in the Schaefer Center.

The 27-25, 25-18, 25-18 victory was the Tigers' lone win in the tournament, falling straight sets earlier in the day to Rio Grande. ONU opened play in the Liz Lyiowksi Tournament Friday afternoon with a 3-2 setback against IU Southeast before falling 3-1 to the host Indiana Tech.

The Tigers brought home the win in dominant fashion, with Halle Nicholas (13), Sabrina Sanif (11), and Naomi Monney-Hori (10) all reaching the double-digit mark for kills in the victory. The most dramatic set was the opener, with the two teams needing extra points to determine a victor.

After a Monney-Hori service ace put ONU at set point at 24-23, back-to-back blocks from Lourdes swung set point in their favor. An errant serve notched the match at 25-25 before Sanif hammered down two consecutive kills to seal the set.

ONU used big runs to set the tone in the final two sets, wrapping up the match in three. Katilyn Kolb added five kills and a pair of blocks. Analiese Fredin registered a match-high 32 assists while putting down three kills. Monney-Hori and Breanna Lamie both recorded 10 digs, and Sara Serafimova and Addison Schmidt chipped in nine each.

The Tigers started tournament play Friday by taking the opening set from Indiana Southeast in an eventual 25-19, 23-25, 18-25, 25-22, 12-15 setback.

Nicholas led the Tigers with 13 kills and Ava Smith collected nine. Sanif put down seven and Kolb finished with six. Fredin led the way with 29 assists. Lamie had a match-best 18 digs, leading a trio of Tigers with double-digit digs alongside Fredin (12) and Serafimova (10).

Later Friday, ONU fell to the host school Indiana Tech, again taking the first set but ultimately falling 25-16, 22-25, 22-25, 20-25. Nicholas led all players with 18 kills. Smith contributed nine. Fredin registered 37 assists, while Lamie recorded a career-high 23 digs.

Before Saturday's straight-set win, the Tigers dropped a 21-25, 19-25, 21-25 decision to Rio Grande. Nicholas (11 kills), Fredin (29 assists), and Lamie (14 digs) were the team leaders.

ONU will return to conference play when they travel to Trinity Christian Thursday night for a 7 p.m. match.

--ONU—

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