No. 13 Ohio Northern goes 2-0 on Day 1 of Mt St Joseph Invitational

By Steven Wright

CINCINNATI – No. 13 Ohio Northern volleyball needed five games for the second time this season to fend off a formidable opponent in Mount Union but was able to sweep tournament-host Mount St. Joseph Friday afternoon at the Mount St. Joseph Fall Classic.

Northern (14-4) beat the Purple Raiders 28-30, 30-20, 26-30, 30-23, 15-12.

The Polar Bears saved their best offense for Game 5, hitting .308 with 10 kills out of the 15 points. 

The biggest play of Game 5 came with the match tied at 7-7. Liz Decima dug a hard shot from Mount Union that sailed to the area at the end of the bench. Liz Schnelle kept the ball in play as she ran into the water cooler to allow Northern to eventually win the point.

With the final game at 14-12, Renee Berry served an ace to clench the victory.

Schnelle led the offense with 26 kills and a hitting percentage of .400 while adding six total blocks and seven digs.

Laura Vuyk had a double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs while Samantha Markham added 14 kills to the Polar Bear effort.

Decima had a solid match in the backcourt with 14 digs and a career-high six assists.

Mandi Fought had 31 digs and Renee Berry had 16 digs for ONU.

Katie Weininger spread the ball around with 57 assists while being an offensive threat with eight kills and only one hitting error.

The Polar Bears defeated MSJ 30-22, 30-23, 30-15 to end the day 2-0 and run their win streak to 10 matches.

Schnelle again led the team with 14 kills while Vuyk had 12 kills and 10 digs.

Freshmen Abby Schaller and Melissa Goodman each stepped up their game against the Lions, recording eights kills apiece.

Weininger dished out another 45 assists in Match 2 along with three kills and seven digs.

Fought picked up 23 digs and Decima added 17 digs.ONU and Heidelberg are tied for first place with 2-0 records after the first day of competition. Mount Union and Baldwin-Wallace are tied for third place with 1-1 marks and Anderson (Ind.) and Mt. St. Joseph are tied for fifth with 0-2 marks.

Northern and Heidelberg will battle Saturday morning at 11 am. The Polar Bears will wrap up tournament play Saturday afternoon at 1 pm against Anderson, while Heidelberg will face Baldwin-Wallace at 1 pm Saturday.

Northern will be in action Friday and Saturday at the Mt. St. Joseph Invitation in Cincinnati, Ohio