Berry's MVP performance leads Volleyball to ONU Invitational title
Submitted by s-wright.3 on Sat, 09/05/2009 - 4:48pm.
Renee Berry
By Steven Wright
| Southwestern (Texas) Box | Thomas More (Ky.) Box |
ADA - For the second consecutive day, senior Renee Berry put up career numbers and led the No. 6-ranked Ohio Northern volleyball team to another pair of three-set sweeps over No. 8-ranked Southwestern (Texas) and Thomas More (Ky.) Saturday afternoon at the ONU Sports Center.
This marks the 12th time the Polar Bears have won the event, as the team improves to a perfect 4-0 on the season.
Southwestern ended the day with a 2-3 overall record, while Thomas More dropped to 0-4.
The Polar Bears ousted the Pirates 25-22, 25-23, 25-10 before beating the Saints 25-19, 25-17, 25-21.
Berry was named tournament MVP after nearly averaging a double-double with 38 kills and 71 digs int he four matches.
In the first match of the day, she recorded her first double-double of the year with 10 kills, 16 digs and a .500 hitting percentage.
She followed that up with an even better performance against Thomas More, recording career highs in kills (13), digs (24) and hitting percentage (.571).
Sophomore Kasey Roeser and junior Abby Schaller were also named to the All-Tournament team for their performances over the weekend.
Roeser anchored the defense that played remarkable all four matches. She had 30 digs against SU and 21 digs against TMC to give her 89 for the weekend.
Schaller was very solid for the Polar Bears on the outside, recording 13 total kills on the day. She ended the weekend with 27 kills and a .250 hitting percentage.
Against Southwestern, Ohio Northern got progressively better on offense throughout the match.
After a .209 team hitting percentage in Set 1, the Polar Bears followed it up by hitting .315 and .429 in the next two sets.
Freshman setter Kelsie Zumberger had a double-double with 44 assists and 10 digs, while senior Liz Schnelle (17 kills) and junior Alex Christian (10) each reached the double figure kill plateau.
Schnelle again led the potent offense against the Saints with 18 kills, while Zumberger recorded another double-double with 40 assists and 12 digs.
Calvin (Mich.) finished second in the tournament with a 3-1 record, followed by Heidelberg (2-2), Southwestern (1-3) and Thomas More (0-4).
The Polar Bears will again be in action at home on Tuesday at 7 pm to host Defiance at the ONU Sports Center.