No. 4 Volleyball posts impressive 2-0 record on Day 1 of Washington (Mo.) National Invitational

Liz Schnelle

By Steven Wright

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ST. LOUIS - The No. 4-ranked Ohio Northern volleyball team stayed undefeated on the season by posting a pair of sweeps over No. 18 Concorida-Moorhead (Minn.) and No. 8 Washington (Mo.) on Friday evening at the Washington National Invitational.

The Polar Bears are now 7-0 on the young season and have yet to drop a set on the year.

Northern defeated the Cobbers 25-23, 25-16, 25-21 before sweeping Washington 25-19, 26-24, 25-23.

The victory over host Washington is the second consecutive time the Polar Bears have been victorious in the all-time series. Prior to tonight, ONU had last beat WU in St. Louis in 1999.

Senior All-American Liz Schnelle was dominant in each match with 16 kills against WU and 15 kills against Concordia.

Her 31 kills on the night now give her 1,755 kills in her career, just 33 away from tying Hannah Kanuckel (2001-04) for the all-time lead in ONU history.

Also approaching a milestone is head coach Kate Witte. The win against WU gives her 495 for her career, just five away from the 500 mark.

Set 3 against WU ended in exciting come-from-behind fashion for ONU.

Northern was in the hole 20-16 before cutting the lead to 22-20.

A kill by Schnelle made the score 22-21 and gave Northern the serve, which junior All-OAC outside hitter Abby Schaller took full advantage of.

Her first serve spurred three consecutive overpasses by WU, the final ending in another Schnelle kill. Schaller then served another tough floater which resulted in an overpass and a Schnelle kill, giving ONU a 23-22 lead.

Schnelle turned in one more kill to give ONU match point before WU answered to make the score 24-23 in favor of ONU. After a WU serve, freshman setter Kelsie Zumberger dumped the second ball over the net to a vacant spot on the court to end the match.

Zumberger played well in both matches, dishing out 57 assists and recording 12 kills over the two matches.

Against Washington, Zumberger had seven kills to set a career high, including the final point of the match. In the opener against Concordia, she recorded a double-double 29 assists and 10 digs.

Sophomore Kasey Roeser again was a steady defensive presence with 21 digs against the Bears and 16 digs against the Cobbers.

Junior All-OAC outside hitter Abby Schaller continued her solid season with a season-high eight kills against WU and seven against Concordia. In ONU's seven matches, Schaller has had seven kills five times.

Senior middle hitter Lindsey Pruneski was another steady performer in the middle for Ohio Northern with six kills and three blocks on the day.

The Polar Bears will look to remain undefeated and win the tournament tomorrow. ONU will play No. 17 Wisconsin-Whitewater at 11 am and Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) at 1:30 pm EST.