Volleyball opens season by splitting 5-set matches with Case Western Reserve, Greenville (Ill.)

CEDAR POINT — Ohio Northern opened its 2024 volleyball season with a 25-22, 16-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-8 loss to Case Western Reserve and a 23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 15-7 victory over Greenville (Ill.) on the first day of the 2024 Great Lakes Cross Over tournament on Friday.

| Great Lakes Cross Over Tournament site |

The Basics

• Records: Ohio Northern (1-1 Overall), Case Western Reserve (1-0 Overall), Greenville (Ill.) (0-1 Overall).
• Venue: Cedar Point Sports Center - Cedar Point, Ohio.

Match Highlights v Case Western Reserve

• Senior Erin Wagner (Massillon/Perry) had a match-high 19 kills and three blocks and hit a team-best .350 for the match.
• Freshman Summer Hoying (Fort Loramie) had 11 kills in her collegiate debut and senior Sonia Dahlin (Minnetonka, Minn.) added 10 kills for ONU.
• Senior Grace Conrad (Somerset/Sheridan) had 26 assists and sophomore Caroline Hensley (Loveland/Bishop Fenwick) had 21 assists for the Polar Bears.
• Fifth-year senior Grace Irmer (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) had a team-best 28 digs.
• Case was led by Rea Marfatia with 16 kills and 16 digs.
• In the opening set, CWRU used a 4-0 run to grab a 20-17 lead. ONU crept within 20-19 and 21-20, but the Spartans would extend the lead to 23-20 and hang on for the victory.
• Northern used an 8-2 run to break an 8-all tie and grab a 16-10 advantage in Set 2.
• In Set 3, Ohio Northern roared back from a 14-10 deficit with a 13-3 run to take a 23-17 lead.
• A late 4-0 run gave case a late 23-20 lead as the Spartans tied the match at two sets apiece.
• Case raced to a 6-0 lead in the fifth and deciding set. Northern battled back to within 9-7, but the Spartans finished with a 6-1 run to win the set 15-8.
• The Polar Bears hit .235 with 62 kills, while the Spartans hit .208 with 55 kills.

Match Highlights v Greenville

• Fifth-year senior Ava Ehlinger (New Carlisle/Tecumseh) had 10 kills and Wagner chipped in eight kills for ONU.
• Conrad had 22 assists and Irmer had a team-best 28 digs.
• Greenville was led by Lainey Hicks with 11 kills.
• In the opening set, GC used a 7-0 run to grab a 16-12 lead midway through the set. ONU rallied to tie the match at 20-all, but the Cougars would use a 4-0 run to extend the lead to 24-20 and hang on for the victory.
• Northern ended the second set on a 6-1 run to break an 19-all tie and tie the match at one set apiece.
• In Set 3, Greenville opened up an early 12-6 lead. Northern rallied to tie the match at 13-13. The set remained tight the rest of the way with neither team leading by more than two points the rest of the way.
• In the fourth set, ONU used a 7-0 run to take a 21-16 lead en route to the 25-20 win.
• Ohio Northern raced to an 8-0 lead in the fifth and deciding set and cruised to the victory from there.
• The Polar Bears hit .157 with 37 kills, while the Cougars hit .109 with 39 kills.

Notables

• Ohio Northern is 23-3 in its last 26 season openers.
• ONU is 5-1 all-time against CWR and is 1-0 all-time against GU.
• Senior Rachel Jennings (Novi, Mich.) did not play in either match due to illness. She has 1,609 career digs, and is now #10 on ONU's all-time top 10 list in that category.
• Jennings entered the 2024 season ranked eighth nationally in digs among active Division III players.
• Conrad ranks ninth on ONU's all-time career assist list with 1,886 in 80 career matches. 
• Wagner ranks seventh all-time in ONU's top-10 list for hitting percentage, hitting .308 in 76 career matches.
• Sophie Windover is now 18-11 in her second season as head coach of the ONU volleyball team.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will wrap up play in the Great Lakes Cross Over on Saturday against Hiram at 8 am and against Chatham (Pa.) at Noon.