No. 12 ONU sweeps OAC-foe
B-W for 14th straight victory

By Steven Wright

ADA — Setter Katie Weininger dished out 54 assists in just three games while three Polar Bears recorded double-digit kills as No. 12 Ohio Northern volleyball swept conference-rival Baldwin-Wallace 30-21, 33-31, 30-20 Tuesday evening at the ONU Sports Center.

Northern has now won 14 straight matches to improve to 18-4 on the year and 4-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.

The Yellow Jackets fall to 13-11, 2-3.

Weininger was also one of five Polar Bears who reached the double-digit dig plateau with 11 to go along with three kills.

In typical fashion, Liz Schnelle paced the offense with 18 kills while Laura Vuyk contributed 14 and Melissa Goodman had 10.

Mandi Fought was one dig away from tying a career-best with 33 on the evening and added a team-high two aces.

Vuyk, Renee Berry and Liz Decima had 19, 13 and 12 digs, respectively.

The Polar Bears got off to a good start early in Game 1, taking a 7-3 lead only to have the Yellow Jackets chip away and eventually take an 18-17 lead.

Northern answered with a run of its own, ending the match on a 13-3 run thanks to five kills from Schnelle, three kills from Vuyk and a kill and a solo block from Goodman.

Game 2 got off to the very opposite start as the Yellow Jackets held leads of 4-2 and 12-7 early in the game.

Northern then took a time out to gain momentum and capture the lead at 18-17.

At 26-24, ONU rattled off three straight points to take a commanding 29-24 lead, but B-W libero Meggie Marten took over in the serving box to help tie the game at 29-29.

The Yellow Jackets gained the lead 31-30, but a kill by Abby Schaller, a B-W error and a kill by Schnelle sealed Game 2 in favor of the Polar Bears.

Marten ended with a match-high four aces for Baldwin-Wallace.

ONU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the final game and never allowed Baldwin-Wallace to gain any momentum to easily claim the Game 3 victory.

The Polar Bears will look to extend their winning streak and remain undefeated in conference play Friday at John Carroll at 7 pm.