WESTERVILLE, Ohio - The Mount St. Joseph women's volleyball team headed north to Westerville, Ohio on Friday to put their unbeaten record on the line against a pair of highly-touted teams. The Lions took down #22 Ohio Northern in their first match, in a 5-set thriller that saw them come from behind to win the final two sets of the match. Then in the night cap they dropped their first match of the season to Otterbein, once again in a 5-set affair.
MATCH ONE | #19 MSJ 3 - #22 ONU 2
The Mount jumped out to a quick lead in this top-25 matchup, taking the first set 25-18. They then dropped their next two sets with Ohio Northern really dominating both sets.
It looked in the fourth set like ONU was going to put away the Mount, leading 20-15 late in the set. The Lions though would not go away, outscoring the Polar Bears 9-4 to tie the set at 24 all. A five point service run by
Erin Androne helped propel the Lions back into a tie and a lead at 25-24. ONU answered to take the lead back after a sideout and a Lions error, but the Mount won the next three points to take the fourth set 28-26, forcing the fifth and decisive set.
Then in the fifth set, the Lions trailed early but quickly took control of the set. Trailing 3-0 a kill from
Emily Pfeifer forced a sideout and again it was Androne at the service line this time for a six point run to put them in control. ONU never got to within four point of the Mount the rest of the way as the Lions cruised to a 15-10 final set win!
Pfeifer led the way with a season-high 17 kills, hitting .279. Joining her in double figures were
Emma Sicking (15 kills) and
Grace Young (13 kills). Androne led a trio with double-figure digs, she had 22 while
Jasmine Butler had 20 and
Hannah Graves added 12.
MATCH TWO | #19 MSJ 2 - Otterbein 3
The Lions second match of the evening was eerily similar to the first as they took the first set, dropped the second and third and won the fourth. This time though they led most of that fourth set, but had to withstand a late rally by Otterbein to force the fifth set.
In the fifth set the teams were back and forth with neither team able to win more than two points in a row at any point. In the end it was Otterbein able to maximize the limited opportunities en route to a 15-11 fifth set win.
Sicking led the way offensively with 15 kills, the only other Lion in double digits was Pfeifer with 10. As a team they hit only .188 compared to a .226 mark for Otterbein.
UP NEXT: The Lions (11-1, 0-0 HCAC) will hit the road to take on UC Clermont on Wednesday before opening HCAC play at home on Friday night welcoming Anderson to the Harrington Center.
