Volleyball opens 45th Annual ONU Invitational with victories over Westminster (Pa.), Wheaton (Ill.)

ADA — Ohio Northern opened the first day of the 45th Annual ONU Invitational with victories over Westminster (Pa.) and Wheaton (Ill.) Friday evening.

| ONU Invitational |

The Basics

• Ohio Northern swept Westminster 25-18, 25-21, 25-22.
• ONU defeated Wheaton 25-11, 23-25, 25-12, 25-23.
• Records: Ohio Northern (10-3 Overall), Westminster (11-6 Overall), Wheaton (8-5 Overall).
• Venue: ONU Sports Center - Ada, Ohio.

Westminster Match Highlights

• Senior Erin Wagner (Massillon/Perry) had a match-high 14 kills with seven digs and hit .440.
• Senior Ava Ehlinger (New Carlisle/Tecumseh) had 11 kills and three aces.
• Freshman Summer Hoying (Fort Loramie) chipped in eight kills and 11 digs.
• Senior Grace Conrad (Somerset/Sheridan) had 26 assists and freshman Haley Hammer (Cecil/Fairview) added 17 assists.
• Senior Rachel Jennings (Novi, Mich.) had a team-leading 22 digs.
• Westminster was led by Ava Ferringer with 10 kills. 
• The Polar Bears hit .290 with 52 kills, while the Titans hit .243 with 37 kills in the match.

 Wheaton Match Highlights

• Wagner had a match-high 20 kills with five blocks and hit .514.
• Senior Sonia Dahlin (Minnetonka, Minn.)and sophomore Olivia Baumann (Eaton) each added seven kills.
• Senior Lauren James (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) had six kills and eight blocks.
• Senior Grace Conrad (Somerset/Sheridan) had 25 assists and freshman Haley Hammer (Cecil/Fairview) added 10- assists.
• Senior Rachel Jennings (Novi, Mich.) had a team-leading 25 digs.
• Wheaton was led by Jordan Benford with 13 kills. 
• The Polar Bears hit .384 with 51 kills, while the Thunder hit .232 with 52 kills in the match.

Notables

• Ohio Northern leads the all-time series against Westminster by a 3-0 margin and Wheaton by a 4-1 count.
• Jennings now has 1,785 digs in 92 career matches, and is No. 6 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 is eighth on ONU's all-time career assist list with 2,132 in 91 career matches. 
• Wagner now ranks fifth all-time in ONU's top-10 list for hitting percentage, hitting .329 in 87 career matches.
• She also has 995 career kills and needs just five more to reach the 1,000-kill plateau.
• Sophie Windover is now 26-13 in her second season as head coach of the ONU volleyball team.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will wrap up the 45th Annual ONU Invitational Saturday with a 12:30 pm match against Manchester (Ind.) and a 3 pm contest against Hanover (Ind.)