Rachel Olach has 14 kills to lead Volleyball in five-set loss at Baldwin-Wallace in OAC Tournament Quarterfinals

ADA — Ohio Northern got 14 kills from freshman Rachel Olach but saw its season come to an end as Baldwin-Wallace rallied for a thrilling five-set victory over the Polar Bears in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament Tuesday night at Ursprung Gymnasium.

The fourth-seeded Yellow Jackets adavnce to face top-seeded and No. 5-ranked Heidelberg in the semifinals Friday night at Tiffin, while the fifth-seeded Polar Bears season ends with an 14-16 record.

Ohio Northern was strong early, winning the first two sets 30-28 and 25-16, but Baldwin-Wallace rallied to win the final three sets 32-30, 26-24, 15-9.

Set 3 was the most exciting with 21 ties before BW hald off three ONU match points to win 32-30.

"The third set was the key," ONU head coach Kate Witte said. "We had opportunities to put the match away and did not take advantage. Then we had another nchance to win it in Set 4. We fought hard throughout and played until the end and I'm proud of our effort, but it was not to be tonight."

Northern battled back from an early 9-5 deficit and eventually tied the match at 11. There were 16 more ties until the Polar Bears eventually won the opener 30-28.

ONU dominated Set 2, racing to leads of 4-1, 10-2 and 13-3 and cruised to a 25-16 victory.

There were 21 ties in Set 3 with Ohio Northern having three match points before the Yellow Jackets prevailed 32-30 to extend the match.

Set 4 was another tight match that Northern led 24-23 late before BW scored the final three points to win 26-24.

The Polar Bears led 5-2 in Set 5 when Baldwin-Wallace went on a 12-2 run to take a commanding 14-7 lead.

Sophomore Julie Fuerst had 12 kills, junior Ellen Grenert had 11 kills, freshman Amanda Volosin dished out 45 assists and added 23 kills and sophomore Jeni Kmic had 45 digs for the Polar Bears.