ALLIANCE, Ohio – No. 4 Mount Union out-lasted No. 5 seed Heidelberg to win in five sets, 23-25, 25-15, 22-25, 25-15 and 15-11, in the first round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament Tuesday at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.
The Purple Raiders improve to 21-6 overall the win and advance to Thursday's semifinal match at top seeded Ohio Northern in Ada, while Heidelberg ends its season at 17-10.
Freshman
Heaven Bartell (Cleveland / St. Joseph Academy) led the Raiders offense with season-high 18 kills and a hitting percentage of .438.
Freshmen
Darby Leininger (Chardon / Beaumont) and
Alexis Meyer (Avon Lake) both picked up 13 kills while Meyer had a hitting percentage of .478.
Senior
Maria Ellesin (Alliance / Marlington) finished with nine kills.
Junior setters
Mollie Thomas (Massillon / Massillon Perry) and
Katie May (Brecksville / Independence) had 29 and 25 assists.
Junior libero
Alyssa Kasaris (North Royalton) finished with a game-high 25 digs while Bartell, Thomas and Leininger all had double digit digs with 22, 18 and 11 respectively.
The first set saw 11 ties and four lead changes with Heidelberg extending its lead on a 6-0 run to lead 23-19. Mount Union responded with a 4-1 run but a kill from Heidelberg ended the set.
Mount Union jumped out to an 11-4 run powered by a kill each from Bartell, Ellesin, Meyer and Leininger. Heidelberg got within five at 15-10 and then two service aces from May started a 10-5 run that ended the set for the Raiders.
The roles reversed once again in the third set as Heidelberg jumped out to a 7-3 lead. Mount Union later in the set responded with a 7-3 run powered by three kills from Meyer to get within two at 20-18. Heidelberg ended the set outscoring the Raiders 5-4.
The fourth set of the night saw Mount Union once again jump out to a 9-3 lead with Leininger getting four kills. Heidelberg got within four once, but Mount Union used a .250 hitting to Heidelberg's .143 win the set 25-15.
The final set Mount Union got out to a 5-1 lead with two kills coming from Ellesin and Bartell. Heidelberg responded with an 8-1 run leading 9-6. The Raiders finished the set on a 9-2 run finishing the set 15-11.
