BEREA, Ohio – No. 6 seed Mount Union saw its season end with a 3-1 loss at No. 3 seed Baldwin Wallace in the quarterfinals of the OAC Women's Volleyball Tournament Tuesday at Ursprung Gymnasium. 

Leading the way offensively for the Purple Raiders was senior Madelin DiBease (Perry / Perry) who tallied up 10 kills and five digs on the match. Junior Maria Ellesin (Alliance / Marlington) also tallied up 10 kills for the Raiders. Sophomore Mollie Thomas (Massillon /  Massillon Perry) dished up 18 assists, and defensively sophomore libero Alyssa Kasaris (North Royalton / North Royalton) collected 22 digs. 

Mount Union got on the board off an error by Baldwin Wallace as they trailed 2-1 in set one. The Yellow Jackets were able to go on a 5-0 run causing the Raiders to regroup. A kill from senior Abby VanHorssen (Black Lick / Gahanna Lincoln) off the timeout sparked the Raider offense. They would go on to hold Baldwin Wallace 5-7, including a 3-0 run to bring the deficit to 13-7. The Raiders could not find the gaps in the Yellow Jacket defense and would go on to drop in the first set 25-13.

A block from the senior duo DiBease and VanHorssen put the Raiders on the board first in set two, followed up by a kill from Ellesin to go up 2-0. The Raiders would continue to lead the Yellow Jackets until a short 3-0 run put Baldwin Wallace up 7-6. The Raiders quickly rallied back as a block from freshman Julia Kerns (Eastlake / Eastlake North) and Isabella Sprunger (North Royalton / North Royalton) knotted things up at 7-7. An ace from DiBease gave the Raiders back the lead at 11-10, but the Yellow Jackets would chip back as they forced a Mount Union timeout at 16-13. The Raiders came off the timeout with a kill by Sprunger which sparked a 5-0 run to but them back up 18-16. Mount Union took advantage of gaps in the Yellow Jacket defense as they went on an 8-1 run and force a Baldwin Wallace timeout as they led 21-17. The Yellow Jackets would try to chip away, but a kill from DiBease followed by a block from Wentz and VanHorssen to secure the 25-21 win.

Each team took a 3-0 run to start set three. The Yellow Jackets went on a 4-0 to force a Raider timeout as they trailed 9-6. A kill by Katie May (Independence / Independence) and DiBease both put a pause on the Yellow Jacket run, but the Raiders wanted to regroup as they trailed 17-10. Kills from VanHorssen and Wentz gave the Raiders life as they trailed 20-14 but were unable to rally back as they dropped set three 25-19.

Both teams kept tight in the fourth set, but a 3-0 run by Baldwin Wallace had them up 8-4 to force a Mount Union timeout. The Raiders continued to battle as they secured key kills by DiBease and Ellesin but were unable to find a rally as they dropped in set four 25-14 to fall in four sets 3-1.