ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Mount Union women's volleyball team (2-6, 2-6 OAC) dropped a pair to No. 25 Muskingum (8-0, 8-0 OAC) in an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader Tuesday evening with match scores of 3-1 and 3-0.

Match One

The Purple Raiders were led offensively by junior Maria Ellesin (Alliance / Marlington)  and senior Madelin DiBease (Perry) who combined for 27 kills. Sophomore Mollie Thomas (Massillon / Massillon Perry) also had an impressive night as she tallied up a career high five aces, along with 18 assists and 11 digs on the match. Sophomore libero Alyssa Kasaris (North Royalton) led the way defensively as she collected 29 digs. The Raiders were also able to block the Muskies five times as two of those came solely from DiBease and another as she assisted.

The back row was on fire for the Raiders as they rallied off a kill from Ellesin to come within one at 21-20, but came up short in the first set 25-22. The Raiders came up off that set to make a statement in the second as they rallied on a 7-1 run to lead the Muskies 15-8. Muskingum was able to respond with a 6-0 run to cut the Raider lead to 22-19, but the Raiders rallied as they secured the next three points to secure a 25-19 win. Set three came with a lot of back and forth as the teams remained within one. The Muskies pulled away on a 5-1 run to lead 19-14, but three points by the Raiders had them back in it 19-17. A kill by Ellesin tied it up at 20 apiece, but the Muskies were able to take advantage of an attack error as they claimed the fourth set 25-21. In set four, the Raiders again kept tight, but the Muskies found a 5-0 run to lead 21-15. The Raiders quickly responded with two points of their own off back to back kills from DiBease and Ellesin, however their efforts were not enough as they dropped the set 25-17 to fall 3-1 in the match.

Match Two

The Raiders were again led by Ellesin and DiBease as they collected 7 kills each. Thomas again led the way with assists as she collected 10 along with 10 digs. Defensively, Kasrais remained on top as she came up with 14 digs. The Raiders again had a powerful wall tallying 7 blocks, 6 of which came assisted

In set one the Raiders kept tight, but Muskingum began to pull away on a 4-0 run to lead 16-12. The Raiders were able to respond and chip away at the Muskie lead to bring to 16-14, but the Muskies found a 4-0 rally as they finished the set on top 25-15. The Raiders again held tight with the Muskies, but a 7-2 run extended their lead to 18-10. The Raiders took advantage of errors from the Muskies by grabbing two quick kills from DiBease and sophomore Isabella Sprunger (North Royalton) to come within three at 19-16. A huge block by senior duo Abby Van Horssen (Blacklick / Gahanna Lincoln) and DiBease and an attack error by the Muskies forced a Muskingum timeout at 20-19. The Muskies answered on a 3-0 run off the timeout to go up 23-19. The Raiders continued to fight, but came up short as they dropped set two 25-21. The Raiders went on a 4-0 to claim a 10-9 lead and force a Muskingum timeout. The Muskies fought back as they rallied on a 6-0 run to claim the set 25-14.

Mount Union will continue their home series as they host Capital on Friday night with a doubleheader where matches are set to begin at 6 and 8 pm.