Julia Fuerst has career night as Volleyball edges Marietta in 5-set thriller; Kate Witte becomes ONU's all-time winningest coach with 570 career victories

By Tim Glon

MARIETTA -- Junior Julia Fuerst did it again.

After recording a career-high 14 kills against Marietta as a sophomore in 2011, the 6-2 middle hitter did herself one better in 2012.

Fuerst had a career-high 15 kills on just 20 attempts and led Ohio Northern to a 22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 24-26, 15-7 victory at Marietta Friday night in Ohio Athletic Conference volleyball action at Ban Johnson Field House.

The Polar Bears improve to 19-5 overall and are 3-2 in OAC play, while the Pioneers fall to 13-8, 2-3.

ONU head coach Kate Witte also recorded her 570th career coaching victory, surpassing the 569 set by Sheila Wallace from 1969-1990.

Witte replaced Wallace in 1991 and has posted a 570-190 record in her 22 seasons at the helm of the Polar Bears, a winning percentage of .750.

In 22 seasons, Wallace went 569-198, a winning percentage of .741.

Fuerst hit an amazing .750 with no errors, senior Ellen Grenert had 10 kills and freshman Kaitlann Hogrefe each had a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs for ONU.

Senior Kelsie Zumberger dished out 47 assists and junior Jeni Kmic had a team-best 29 digs.

Rachel Hackenberg led four Pioneers in double figures in kills with 19.

Fuerst came off the bench in Set 3, but took over the match in Sets 4 and 5.

After Marietta had raced to a 9-1 lead in Set 4, Fuerst led the Polar Bears on a 21-9 run with seven kills as ONU pulled ahead 22-18.

MC would rally to win the set 26-24 and tie the match at two sets apiece.

But Fuerst continued to dominate play at the net, registering four kills as ONU raced to a 10-4 lead in the fifth and deciding set.

"Julia played very well tonight and really took over the match," ONU head coach Kate Witte said. "We persevered tonight. Marietta is a very talented team and we knew this would be a tough match tonight. Fortunately we came out on top."

In the first set, Marietta used an early 4-0 run to take a 4-1 lead and would not trail, winning 25-22.

Northern had the hot start in Set 2, scoring the first seven points.

A 6-1 run gave ONU a commanding 17-9 advantage.

MC scored four straight to pull within 20-16, but the Polar Bears would score three of the set's final four points to win 25-19 and even the match at 1-1.

In Set 3, each team enjoyed three runs of three or more points each, but it was ONU's 6-0 run midway through the set that gave the visitors a 17-12 lead.

The Pioneers pulled within 21-19, but ONU would score four of the final points to win 25-20.

Each team seemed to have Set 4 in hand, only to see the opposition rally.

MC scored the first seven points and seemed in command up 9-1 early.

But the Polar Bears rallied, outscoring the hosts 21-9, to go ahead 22-18.

This time it was Marietta's turn, scoring six of the final seven points to win the set 26-24 and even the match at two sets apiece.

In the fifth set, a kill by Fuerst and four Pioneer hitting errors gave ONU a quick 5-1 lead.

A MC point made it 5-2, but back-to-back kills by Fuerst and a service ace by sophomore Hannah Livengood gave the Polar Bears a commanding 8-2 lead.

Kills by Grenert, Fuerst and Hogrefe extended ONU's lead to 12-4.

Northern hit .286 in the fifth set and .159 for the match with 57 kills, while Marietta hit .-038 in Set 5 and .132 for the match with 65 kills.

The Polar Bears will return home for an OAC battle with Heidelberg Tuesday night at 7 pm at the ONU Sports Center.