Volleyball edged in tight match by No. 1 Calvin (Mich.)

By Tim Glon

| Tournament Site |

SPRINGFIELD — The Ohio Northern volleyball team played well in a tight 26-24, 25-23, 25-16 loss to No. 1-ranked Calvin (Mich.) on day two of the Wittenberg Classic Saturday afternoon at the HPER Center.

The Polar Bears fall to 7-4 and are 0-2 in the tournament, while the Knights improve to 10-2 overall and are 1-2 in the tournament.

Freshman Hannah Davis led Ohio Northern with 10 kills on just 23 attempts and a .304 hitting percentage.

Junior Ellie Gillespie had eight kills and a team-high 18 digs, junior Kaitlann Hogrefe had seven kills and sophomore Ashley Borchers dished out 32 assists for ONU.

Calvin was led by Maggie Kamp with 17 kills and Emily Crowe with 11 kills.

Neither team led by more than two points as Set 1 went into overtime.

A pair of kills by Davis, sandwiched around an ace from Gillespie, gave ONU a 23-22 lead.

After Calvin took a 24-23 lead, a kill by sophomore Kristin Sessler tied the set at 24-all.

But the Knights would score the next two points to squeak by and win the opening set 26-24.

ONU jumped to a quick 3-0 lead in Set 2 on two kills by Gillespie and a kill but Hogrefe.

But Calvin responed with an 11-0 run to take what appeared to be a commanding 11-3 lead.

The Polar Bears kept battling and chipped away at the lead until a kill by Davis pulled ONU within 24-23. Again Calvin got a kill it needed and hung on to win the set 25-23. 

In Set 3, ONU again took a quick 2-1 lead on kills by Hogrefe and Davis.

Calvin would use a 5-0 run and a 4-0 run to grab a 12-5 advantage.

Another 4-0 run would push the lead to 22-12 and the Knight would close out the match.

ONU hit .162 for the match on with 39 kills and 17 errors, while CC hit .246 with 47 kills and 13 errors.

The Polar Bears will conclude the Wittenberg Tournament on Saturday evening with a 6 pm match against host and No. 9-ranked Wittenberg.