No. 20 Volleyball sweeps area-rival Bluffton, gives ONU head coach Kate Witte her 700th career victory
By Tim Glon
ADA — The No. 20-ranked Ohio Northern volleyball team swept area-rival Bluffton 25-14, 25-20, 25-22 on Tuesday night at the ONU Sports Center, giving head coach Kate Witte her 700th career victory in the process.
The Polar Bears (7-2 overall) got 11 kills from freshman Madi Ellis (Delphos/Saint John's) and 10 kills from junior Chelsea Huppert (Bremen, Ind.) in the win.
The Beavers (2-6 overall) were led by bethany Martini with 11 kills.
Witte is now 700-229 in 28 seasons at ONU, a winning percentage of .753. She is the winningest coach in Ohio Northern volleyball history and in the history of the Ohio Athletic Conference.
"I am just so grateful to be the head coach at such a fine institution as Ohio Northern University,' Witte said. "This is a testament to the quality of women we have had in our program. I love the ladies on the team right now and I love all of the players that have played for me through the years. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to continue the outstanding tradition of Ohio Northern volleyball that I inherited 28 years ago."
Northern raced to a 7-0 lead in Game 1 and did not look back, trailing only briefly in the early stages of games two and three.
A 9-3 run broke a 9-9 tie in Game 2 and an 8-0 run set the tone in Game 3, giving ONU a 10-4 advantage.
ONU hit .242 for the match with 40 kills and just 10 errors on 124 attempts, while Bluffton his .050 with 32 kills and 25 errors on 141 attempts.
Sophomore Katie Wade (Battle Creek, Mich./Harper Creek) dished out 35 assists and had 14 digs and junior Madison Broering (Saint Henry) had a team-best 16 digs for Ohio Northern.
This was the second match of a home-and home series as ONU edged BU 3-2 in the final match of the Bluffton Spiketacular on Saturday afternoon at the Sommer center.
The Polar Bears will return to action Friday night at 7 pm against No. 17 Hope (Mich.) at the Wittenberg Classic.
