No. 18 Volleyball drops 3-0 decision in OAC Tournament finals
By Caleb Scott
WESTERVILLE — The No. 18-ranked Ohio Northern volleyball team fell 25-17, 25-18, 25-17 to Otterbein on Saturday afternoon during the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship match in Westerville.
The No. 2-seeded Polar Bears fall to 27-5 overall, while the No. 1-seeded Cardinals move to 29-3.
Sophomore McKenna Jordan (Toledo/St. Ursula) led the Polar Bears with a team-high 11 kills, while freshman Katie Wade (Battle Creek, Mich./Harper Creek) had a team-best 22 assists, and sophomore Kristin Langston (Versailles) led the team with 10 digs.
After Jordan and senior Haley Potters (Wheelersburg/South Webster) each recorded a kill apiece to close the gap in set one to 17-13, the Cardinals used a 6-0 run to take a commanding 23-13 lead. ONU would score four of the last six points, but fell 25-17 in the first set.
The second set proved to be a back-and-forth battle, but two 3-0 runs allowed OU to claim the set 25-18.
In the final set, two early kills from Jordan led ONU to a quick 4-0 lead.
Otterbein would respond, scoring eight of the next nine points to grab an 8-5 lead.
After scoring the next point and closing the Otterbein lead to two points, ONU was unable to get any closer as OU completed the 3-0 sweep.
Northern will await the NCAA III Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 6 to see if it earns an at large bid to the 2017 NCAA Div. III Tournament.