ALLIANCE, Ohio – Mount Union's women's volleyball team, ranked No. 7 in the nation, defeated Wilmington 3-0 and Defiance 3-0 on Saturday at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.

The Purple Raiders improve to 16-0 and 1-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) as they defeated Wilmington (0-11, 0-1 OAC) in the OAC opener.  Defiance moves to 10-4 on the season with a win over Wilmington and a loss to Mount Union.

The 16 wins to open the season marks the best win streak to the start of a season as it passes the 2003 season of 15 wins.

In the 25-10, 25-12, 25-15 sweep over Wilmington, sophomore Kara Berger (Mentor/Mentor) led the Raiders with eight kills as junior Sara Brown (Willoughby/Willoughby South) tallied seven kills and three block assists. Junior Sarah Schleich (Westfield Center/Cloverleaf) recorded 21 assists and junior Lauren Mastroine (Orrville/Orrville) notched 19 digs. Junior Mel Patterson (Mentor/Lake Catholic) had 10 digs.

In the 25-18, 25-18, 25-21 win over Defiance, Mount Union's senior, Taylor Webb (Geneva/Geneva) notched 14 kills as freshman Allison Twining (Perrysburg/Findlay) had nine. Schleich and teammate junior Brittany Woodard (Diamond/Southeast) each recorded double-digits assists with Schleich at 24 and Woodard at 16. Twining tallied 11 digs with five block assists as Mastroine chipped in with 20 digs.  

No. 7 Mount Union hosts Marietta on Friday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.

  Wilmington (0-10) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Natalie Sparks 4-0-0; Molly

  Hirtzinger 3-0-0; Ashley Miller 3-0-1; Tabby Biegler 2-1-0; Ariana

  Neff 2-0-1; Courtney Hurley 1-1-0; Catlin Pauley 1-0-0; Totals

  16-2-1.0. (Assists) - Ariana Neff 10. (Dig leaders) - Meghan Bruns 14;

  Tabby Biegler 12

  Mount Union (15-0) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kara Berger 8-2-0; Sara Brown

  7-0-3; Allison Twining 6-0-2; Mary Tout 5-0-0; Mel Patterson 5-0-1;

  Taylor Webb 4-0-1; Emma Mathieson 3-0-1; Emily Schoenfelt 1-0-0;

  Rachel Adolph 1-0-0; Kelly Johnson 1-0-0; Sarah Schleich 0-4-0;

  Kristen Kayser 0-2-0; Totals 41-8-5.0. (Assists) - Sarah Schleich 21.

  (Dig leaders) - Lauren Mastroine 19; Mel Patterson 10; Kristen Kayser 8

  Site: Alliance, Ohio (The MAAC)

  Date: Sep 21, 2013   Attend: 97   Time: 1:00   

Short Box Score (Match)
Defiance vs #7 Mount Union (Sep 21, 2013 at Alliance, Ohio)
Mount Union def. Defiance 25-18,25-18,25-21

  Defiance (10-4) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Chelsea Ludeman 10-0-2; Alexis

  Pierce 6-0-2; Kelsey Tietje 5-0-2; Bree Anderson 5-0-1; Alicia Kalik

  2-0-1; Caroline Hesterman 1-0-0; Chri Seidenstricker 1-0-0; Ari

  Mahaffey 0-1-0; Totals 30-1-4.0. (Assists) - Alicia Kalik 24. (Dig

  leaders) - Rebecca Kain 10; Alicia Kalik 10

  Mount Union (16-0) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Taylor Webb 14-0-1; Allison

  Twining 9-1-5; Mary Tout 7-0-0; Kara Berger 7-1-4; Sara Brown 5-0-2;

  Mel Patterson 5-0-0; Sarah Schleich 1-0-0; Abby Riffee 0-4-0; Totals

  48-6-6.0. (Assists) - Sarah Schleich 24; Brittany Woodard 16. (Dig

  leaders) - Lauren Mastroine 20; Allison Twining 11; Abby Riffee 8

  Site: Alliance, Ohio (The MAAC)

  Date: Sep 21, 2013   Attend: 129   Time: 1:09