Volleyball splits with Denison, Wittenberg in OAC/NCAC crossover on Senior Day

ADA — The Ohio Northern volleyball team went 1-1 on the day against North Coast Athletic Conference foes, defeating Denison 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-10 and falling to Wittenberg 20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 18-25 on Saturday at the ONU Sports Center.

The Basics

• Records: Ohio Northern (16-9), Denison (10-17), Wittenberg (13-13).
• Venue: ONU Sports Center - Ada, Ohio

Denison Match Highlights

• The Ohio Northern Polar Bears defeated the Denison Big Red in a 4-set match. 
• Junior Erin Wagner (Massillon/Perry) led ONU with 14 kills and a .419 hitting percentage.
• Junior Lauren James (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) had 9 kills with a .438 hitting percentage along with 6 blocks.
• Senior Kaidie Carstensen (Raymond/Fairbanks) had 13 kills.
• Senior Ava Ehlinger (New Carlisle/Tecumseh) had 7 kills with 3 blocks and a team-best of 18 digs.
• Junior Sonia Dahlin (Minnetonka, Minn.) had 6 kills and led the team with 7 blocks.
• Junior Rachel Jennings (Novi, Mich.) put up 15 digs for the Polar Bears. 
• Senior Grace Conrad (Somerset/Sheridan) had a team-best 28 assists.
• In the opening set, ONU trailed until a kill from Carstensen sparked a 4-0 run to put the Polar Bears up 22-19. The Big Red answered with a 7-2 run to grab the set 26-24.
• In Set 2, the Polar Bears were behind until a 14-all tie up from a block by James. Northern used a 7-2 run of its own to close out the set  25-21.
• Ohio Northern rolled in Set 3, going on a 12-4 run to lead 16-8 en route to a 25-14 victory.
• In the final set, ONU started off strong with a 16-4 lead and a final 8-3 run to win 25-10.
• The Polar Bears hit .209 with 54 kills, while the Big Red hit .031 with 38 kills.

Wittenberg Match Highlights

• The Ohio Northern Polar Bears fell to the Wittenberg Tigers in a 4-set match. 
• Junior Erin Wagner (Massillon/Perry) led ONU with 13 kills and a .357 hitting percentage.
• Senior Ava Ehlinger (New Carlisle/Tecumseh) had 10 kills and 11 digs.
• Junior middles Sonia Dahlin (Minnetonka, Minn.) and Lauren James (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) had 6 kills with 4 blocks and 5 kills with 3 blocks, respectively.
• Freshman Olivia Baumann (Eaton) had 5 kills on the day.
• Junior Rachel Jennings (Novi, Mich.) put up a team-best of 27 digs.
• Senior Grace Conrad (Somerset/Sheridan) and Sophomore Caroline Hensley (Loveland/Bishop Fenwick) each had 17 assits.
• In the opening set, Wittenberg never trailed and won 25-20.
• Set 2 was neck-and-neck, but a 7-3 run gave the Polar Bears a 22-14 lead. A 6-2 run kept the Tigers in it but Wagner's kill ended the set 25-22.
• In the third set, Wittenberg led 21-14, but ONU battled back to within 22-21 on a 7-1 run. WU would score the final three points to hang on.
• Going back and forth in the last set, the Tigers used an 8-2 run to turn a tight 17-16 lead into a 25-18 win.
• The Polar Bears hit .140 with 44 kills, while the Tigers hit .152 with 51 kills.

Notables

• Jennings finshied the day leading the Polar Bears with 42 digs in total.
• Conrad finished the day leading the Polar Bears with 45 assists in total.
• Wanger finished the day leading the Polar Bears with 27 kills in total.
• Jennings has 1,563 career digs, and is now #10 ONU's all-time top 10 in that category.
• Conrad has 1,799 career assists. She ranks tenth in ONU's top-10 list in the category.
• Wagner ranks seventh all-time in ONU's top-10 list for hitting percentage, hitting .305 in 72 career matches.
• Sophie Windover is now 16-9 in her first season as head coach of the ONU volleyball team.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears return to action hosting John Carroll on Tuesday at 7pm to begin the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.