BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's volleyball team defeated Ohio Northern University by a final score of 3-1 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup in Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
BW (11-6, 1-2 OAC) got out to a slow start in Set 1 as Ohio Northern (14-5, 0-2 OAC) was firing on all cylinders in hopes of cracking into the national Top 25 rankings. However, the Brown and Gold would spread the ball around and hold the Polar Bears to a .188 hitting percentage in the next three sets to earn their first conference win of the season.
BW Leaders
- Senior All-OAC libero Lauren Gardner (Avon/St. Joseph Academy) tallied a game-high 24 digs
- Senior outside hitter Brinn MacLellan (Novelty/Gilmour Academy) led the Brown and Gold with 17 kills
- Junior Academic All-OAC setter Katarina Blazetic (DeLand, Fla.) recorded her seventh 40+ assist game of the season with 46
- Freshman outside hitter Bella Martinez (Newark) finished with a career-high 13 kills and hit .556 on 18 attempts
- Sophomore outside hitter Lexi Smith (Tiffin/Columbian) had a season-best 11 kills and added four digs
- Junior Academic All-OAC defensive specialist Jamie Snell (Strongsville) was the fourth Yellow Jacket with double-digit digs finishing with 12
- Senior All-Ohio Athletic Conference outside hitter Sam Rueda (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) and freshman middle hitter Josie Lynn (Wabash, Ind./Northfield) each added seven kills
- Rueda and Blazetic each contributed 13 digs
- Lynn led the team with three block assists
ONU Leaders
- Senior right-side hitter Erin Wagner tied a game-high 17 kills
- Senior setter Grace Conrad assisted 27 times
- Senior libero Rachel Jennings totaled 17 digs
First Set (ONU 25-15)
- ONU led in kills 17-9
- Yellow Jackets hit .073
- Polar Bears hit .441
Second Set (BW 25-21)
- BW led in kills 17-8
- Yellow Jackets hit .225
- Polar Bears hit .049
Third Set (BW 25-14)
- BW led in kills 15-10
- Yellow Jackets hit .306
- Polar Bears hit .071
Fourth Set (BW 25-19)
- BW led in kills 18-13
- Yellow Jackets hit .395
- Polar Bears hit .13
The Yellow Jackets are back in action this weekend as they travel to Holland, Michigan to compete in the Hope College October Tournament hosted by Hope (Mich.) College. BW will open the weekend against Swarthmore (Pa.) College at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 11 and will continue the Tournament on Saturday, October 12 as they take on Millikin (Ill.) University at 11 a.m. and Hope at 1:30 p.m. inside DeVos Fieldhouse.
