CEDARVILLE, Ohio – Volleyball picked up its 13th sweep of the season over Ursuline (2-21) – (25-14, 25-22, 25-21), but had the tables turned on them with a loss in the second match to host Cedarville (20-3) – (25-16, 25-14, 25-22). The Bears (17-6) have now won nine of their last 11 matches. Eight of those victories have come in the minimum three games.
Shawnee State got out to a quick start on Saturday, winning eight of the first 10 points to jump out to the 8-2 lead on Ursuline. They held right around a 10-point lead from basically 19-9 until closing out the opening set. SSU would also never trail in the second set. The Bears led by as much as six (14-8), but the Arrows would quickly close their deficit to just two, at 15-13. Ursuline would stay within striking distance and bring the match back to 23-22 before the Bears took the final two points for the 2-0 lead.
The third set would also be a tightly contested game. The two squads found themselves tied at 16-all before the Bears would eventually go up 19-17 after a Carly Mazza service. The teams would trade points to get to 24-21 where a service error would give SSU the 3-0 victory.
The Bears hit .312 in the opening match, including a .344 percentage in the opening game, while holding their opponents to just a .079 mark for the match. The highest Ursuline percentage during any set was a .161 mark in the final game. Kristi Humble and Tiffany Jackson led the Bears' attack with nine kills. Alex Pohl and Ashley Galbraith added eight more, while Paige Zelich finished with seven. Hannah Gephart totaled 24 assists over three sets, while Mazza talied 16 more helpers. Kirsti Yates dug out a match-high 16 kill attempts. Three other players (Madison Smith, Gephart and Zelich) would also add six digs each in the opening victory.
In the second match with Cedarville, the opening set was decided by a streak of rallies by each team. SSU found itself down early to the hosts, who took nine of the first 10 points in the opening set. The Bears would take 10 of the next 12 points to close the gap to two, at 13-11. However, the Yellow Jackets answered right back with five straight points of their own before closing out the opening game. In the second set, the Yellow Jackets held a 12-9 advantage just past the midway point. However, they would run off six straight points before the Bears earned a side-out, paving the way for a 2-0 lead.
Cedarville looked primed to take an easy sweep in the final match, leading by as much as seven, at 14-7. However, SSU would not go away without a battle. The Bears slowly clawed their way back into the match and four straight service points from Mazza would tie the set at 19-all. The two sides would trade side-outs all the way to 22-all before the Yellow Jackets finished the match with three straight points.
Hindering the Bears' ability to attack their opponents were 10 blocks by Cedarville in three sets. However, SSU would also return the favor with 10 blocks of its own. In total, the Bears finished the match with 25 kills, but committed 21 attacking errors. Four different players (Kelsey Bielanow, Jackson, Pohl and Zelich) each tied with a team-high four kills. Pohl also finished with a team-high three block assists. Gephart tallied a team-high 12 assists, while Yates totaled a team-high 12 digs. Smith added six more in the second match.
Volleyball's only match this week will be a rematch of their earlier five-set thriller to open MSC play when they travel to Rio Grande for 7 p.m. start this Tuesday.
