#14 Volleyball opens 2021 season with four set victory at Earlham (Ind.)

By Tim Glon

RICHMOND, Ind. — The No. 14-ranked Ohio Northern volleyball team opened its 2021 season with a 25-22, 25-14, 18-25, 28-26 victory at Earlham (Ind.) on Wednesday night at the Druley Performance Gymnasium.

The Polar Bears (1-0 overall) got 14 kills from freshman Taylor Baxter (Bellevue) and 12 kills from senior Melina Woods (Ada) to win their season opener for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

The Quakers (0-1) got 14 kills from Maria Young in their season opener.

Senior Kiki Carle (Cincinnati/Mother of Mercy) dished out 40 kills and had 15 digs, senior Hannah Irmer (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) had 17 digs and freshman Rachel Jennings (Novi, Mich.) had 16 digs for ONU.

The Polar Bears jumped to a quick 6-2 lead in Set 1 and led by as many as 20-13 before cruising to the win.

Northern used a 10-2 run to turn a tight 5-4 lead into a commanding 15-6 advantage in the second set.

Earlham broke a 15-15 tie in the third set by ending the set on a 10-2 run, extending the match to a fourth set.

ONU led 19-15 when EU answered with a 9-2 run to lead 24-21. The Polar Bears got three consecutive kills from Baxter to tie the set at 24-all.

The score was tied at 26-26 when a kill by Woods and an ace by Taylor gave ONU the victory.

Ohio Northern hit .211 for the match with 54 kills and 18 errors on 171 attacks, while Earlham hit .108 with 45 kills and 26 errors on 176 attacks.

The Polar Bears will return to action on Friday and Saturday when they host the 42nd annual ONU Invitational at the ONU Sports Center.