Ehlinger's 28 kills leads Volleyball to season-opening sweep of Marietta to open the Katie Kuhn era
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marietta 0-1,0-1 OAC | 25 | 12 | 18 | 25 | 1 |
| Ohio Northern 1-0,1-0 OAC | 20 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 3 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marietta 0-2,0-2 OAC | 23 | 17 | 25 | 25 | 12 | 2 |
| Ohio Northern 2-0,2-0 OAC | 25 | 25 | 19 | 21 | 15 | 3 |
Team Stats
Marietta
| Game Statistics | Marietta | Ohio Northern |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .201 | .255 |
| Blocks | 6.0 | 7.0 |
| Digs | 63 | 60 |
| Aces | 4 | 16 |
Marietta
| Game Statistics | Marietta | Ohio Northern |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .158 | .183 |
| Blocks | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Digs | 73 | 83 |
| Aces | 3 | 7 |
By Andrew Loewe
ADA — The Ohio Northern Volleyball team began its 2020-21 season by sweeping Marietta 3-1 and 3-2 on Friday night at ONU Sports Center.
With both wins, the Polar Bears start the season 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, and the Pioneers fall to 0-2, 0-2.
In the first match, Northern defeated Marietta 20-25, 25-12, 25-18, 27-25.
Freshman Ava Ehlinger (New Carlisle/Tecumseh) led ONU with 14 kills and .367 hitting percentage in the match.
MC won the first set, and ONU responded by winning three consecutive sets to win the match.
After Marietta first set win, the Polar Bears took a 5-0 to extend the score 23-10 to cruise to a second set victory.
In the fourth set, Northern led 22-18, then a 5-1 MC run tied the score at 23-23.
After trading points to make it 25-25, Ohio Northern scored the final two points, capped by an Ehlinger kill to win the fourth set and match.
The Polar Bears notched 53 kills on 147 swings with 14 errors (.265 hitting percentage) while the Pioneers posted 47 kills on 149 swings with 19 errors (.201 hitting percentage).
In the second match, ONU defeated MC 25-23, 25-17, 19-25, 21-25, 15-12 led by Ehlinger with 14 kills and junior Melina Woods (Ada) added 13 kills.
Ohio Northern closed the first set on a 9-2 run to win 25-23.
The Polar Bears used a 7-0 run in the middle of the second set to take a 16-11 lead and went on to the win.
Back-to-back Marietta set wins forced a match-deciding fifth set.
In the fifth set, the Polar Bears started on a 6-2 run, then the lead shrunk to 14-12 in favor of ONU.
Woods clinched the fifth set and match with a kill.
The Polar Bears notched 63 kills on 175 swings with 31 errors (.183 hitting percentage) while the Pioneers posted 51 kills on 171 swings with 28 errors (.158 hitting percentage).
The two wins marked first-year head coach Katie Kuhn's first victories of her career.
Ohio Northern will travel to Baldwin Wallace for two matches starting at 6 pm on Tuesday night.
