Volleyball drops matches to Illinois Wesleyan and #22 Coe, Iowa on day two of the Illinois Wesleyan Tournament
By: Ashley Birchmeier
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Ohio Northern volleyball team dropped two intense games Saturday afternoon in the final round of the Illinois Wesleyan Tournament hosted at the Shirk Center.
The Polar Bears fell to Illinois Wesleyan, Ill. and #22 Coe, Iowa in five sets, dropping Northern to 5-3 overall on the season.
Northern opened competition on Saturday with the tournament host Illinois Wesleyan falling 25-15, 20-25, 25-19, 23-25, and 16-18.
The Polar Bears battled back in set 5, raddling off six straight points to erase a 13-6 deficit and move within 13-12 of the Titans.
ONU continued to battle late in the set as junior Kristin Sessler was able to bring the energy for the Polar Bears but Illinois Wesleyan deemed to much as they were able to hold on for the 18-16 win.
Northern was led in the contest by senior Ellie Gillespie who recorded a team-high 17 kills and junior Ashley Borchers who tied a career-high 56 assists.
Borchers, sophomore Haley Potters, senior Kaitlann Hogrefe and junior Claire Heitkamp all added double digit kills in the contest.
In the second game for the Polar Bears they fell to #22 ranked Coe, Iowa 18-25, 26-24, 16-25, 25-17, and 10-15.
Northern once again saw a late 5th set rally come up short as the Polar Bears were only able to land five kills in the 15-10 defeat.
The Polar Bears were led in the contest by Sessler and Gillespie, both who recorded nine kills in the contest.
Sessler also hit a team-leading .212 in the contest, while Borchers added a team-high 28 assists.
Northern returns to action Wednesday Sept. 16 as they welcome Bluffton to the ONU Sports Center for a 7:00 pm start.