Volleyball falls in straight sets to No. 7 Mount Union

By: Andrew Korba

ADA -- The Ohio Northern volleyball team dropped a straight set (25-21, 25-17, 25-13) decision to No. 7-ranked Mount Union on Saturday afternoon at the ONU Sports Center.

The Polar Bears fall to 11-7 overall and 1-1 in OAC play, while the Purple Raiders remain undefeated at 21-0, 3-0.

Freshman Kristin Sessler paced Northern with nine kills and 14 digs.

Mount Union came out firing and jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the opening set.

But Northern responded, reeling off five straight points, capped off on a kill by Sessler, to tie it at 5-5.

ONU used two attack errors and a kill from freshman Claire Heitkamp to jump in front 12-9.

A kill by Sessler put the Polar Bears up 16-13, but the Purple Raiders came right back with a 6-1 run to jump in front 19-17.

Northern would win the next three points, getting kills from sophomore Kaitlann Hogrefe and Heitkamp to take the lead back 20-19.

But Mount Union would use a 6-1 run to close out the first set, 25-21.

Set 2 saw the Polar Bears jump in front 5-4 on a kill by Sessler.

The Purple Raiders would continue to fight and use a 9-3 run midway through the set to gain control.

Mount Union jumped on top early in the third set and won the last three points to clinch the set and match, 25-13.

Northern had 28 kills and hit .097 for the match, while Mount Union registered 47 kills and hit .350.

Nicole Snyder paced Mount Union with 14 kills and a hitting percentage of .591.

Ohio Northern will return to action on Wednesday, with a non-conference match at home against Wooster at 7 pm.