ALLIANCE, Ohio -- The top-seeded Mount Union volleyball team topped fifth-seeded Heidelberg in straight sets (25-15, 25-19, 27-25) on Friday night to advance to its second straight Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament championship match.

In addition, the berth in the OAC Finals secured the Purple Raiders their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and third appearance in the last four years.

Mount Union will meet second-seeded Otterbein, which beat Ohio Northern in four sets in the night's first semifinal, tomorrow afternoon (Nov. 3) at 2 p.m.

The Raiders dominated the 'Berg in the first set.  Leading 18-12, Mount Union picked up two straight points thanks to a Dee Glass (Medina/Medina) kill and a service ace by Sarah Schleich (Westfield Center/Cloverleaf) to push the lead to eight.

Then, with the Raiders up 23-15, Mel Patterson (Mentor/Lake Catholic) and Kara Berger (Mentor/Mentor) recorded back-to-back kills to put Mount Union up 1-0 in the match.

Although the OAC's first seed only won the second set by six points, they never trailed.  Leading 20-15, Mount Union won five-of-nine to close out the set.  Those five points were courtesy of two Heidelberg errors, a Kristen Kayser (Oregon/Clay) service ace and kills by Nicole Snyder (Mentor/Lake Catholic) and Mary Tout (North Royalton/North Royalton).

But Heidelberg did not go down without a fight.

Trailing 22-19 in the third, the Raiders had to mount a comeback to crawl back into the set.  Thanks to two kills by Tout and one by Taylor Webb (Geneva/Geneva) they were able to do just that and tie the match.  With the score knotted at 25, Mount Union closed out the Student Princes with a Berger kill and an attack error by Heidelberg's Marian Bevington.

Snyder finished with a team-high 10 kills.  Webb followed with nine.  Snyder's 12 digs ranked second on the Raiders behind Kristen Gromes' (Navarre/Fairless) 16.  Berger had three blocks, Kayser picked up with 23 assists and Schleich had 17.

Jacki Street's 11 kills paced the Heidelberg attack.

Mount Union's 11th consecutive win propelled the squad to 26-5 overall.  Heidelberg ended its season with a 19-14 record.

Tomorrow, Mount Union will play for its second straight OAC Tournament championship against Otterbein, which will be appearing in its first-ever title match.  The Raiders earned the OAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament with their win in the semifinals as well.

The OAC Championship is scheduled for 2 p.m. tomorrow in Alliance.  Mount Union is currently ranked 10th in the nation, while Otterbein checks in at 12th.  The Raiders won the only meeting between the two schools during the regular season, a 3-2 decision on Oct. 19.

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                               Short Box Score (Match)
                          2012 Mount Union Volleyball
         Heidelberg vs #10 Mount Union (Nov 02, 2012 at Alliance, Ohio)

  Mount Union def. Heidelberg 25-15,25-19,27-25

  Heidelberg (19-14) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Jacki Street 11-0-0; Marian
  Bevington 10-0-2; Amber Welfle 7-0-0; Kristen Zumberger 3-0-1; Jamie
  Kluding 2-0-1; Stephanie Romie 2-0-0; Rachel Ferguson 1-0-0; Totals
  36-0-2.0. (Assists) - Rachel Ferguson 19. (Dig leaders) - Tessa
  Benanzer 14; Rachel Ferguson 11

  Mount Union (26-5) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Nicole Snyder 10-1-1; Taylor
  Webb 9-0-0; Mary Tout 7-0-1; Dee Glass 6-0-1; Mel Patterson 6-0-2;
  Kara Berger 4-0-3; Sarah Schleich 1-2-0; Kristen Kayser 0-1-0; Kristen
  Gromes 0-3-0; Totals 43-7-4.0. (Assists) - Kristen Kayser 23; Sarah
  Schleich 17. (Dig leaders) - Kristen Gromes 16; Nicole Snyder 12

  Site: Alliance, Ohio (The MAAC)
  Date: Nov 02, 2012   Attend: 225   Time: 1:22   
  Referees: Bob Baxter, Al Herbert, Cathy Masin
  2012 OAC Tournament - Semifinal No. 2
  Mount Union advances to OAC Tournament Finals
  Mount Union qualifies for NCAA Tournament