Fuerst, Yoder have 13 kills each to lead Volleyball in five set loss to Otterbein

ADA — Sophomores Julia Fuerst and Cenzie Yoder each had 13 kills to lead the Ohio Northern volleyball team in a 22-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-20, 15-7 loss to Otterbein Wednesday night at the ONU Sports Center.

The Polar Bears fall to 11-13 overall and 2-2 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, while the Cardinals improve to 19-4, 4-1.

Sophomore Ellen Grenert added 10 kills, freshman Amanda Volosin dished out 36 assists and sophomore Jeni Kmic had 22 digs for ONU.

Northern came out hot in the first set, hitting at a .611 clip midway through the set, before settling on a sparkling .438 hitting percentage and a 25-22 victory.

In Set 2, ONU used a 7-1 run, keyed by four kills from Fuerst, to turn an 18-13 deficit into a 20-19 lead.

Kills from Yoder and Grenert helped ONU score three of the set's final four points to break a 22-all tie and give the hosts a 25-23 win and a two sets to none lead.

Otterbein got its defense geared up in the third set, limiting ONU to a -.061 hitting percentage to win 25-16.

In Set 4, OU jumped to leads of 6-1, 9-3 and 12-4 then held off a late ONU charge to win 25-20 and even the match at two sets apiece.

In the fifth and deciding set, the Cardinals scored three straight points to go up 4-2 early, then would score the final six points of the match to win 15-7 and complete the come from behind victory.

Kristen Bennett led four Otterbein players in double figures with 18 kills.

The Polar Bears will return to action Saturday with a 12:30 pm road match at Baldwin-Wallace.