Roeser reaches 1,000-Dig mark, No. 4 Volleyball sweeps first two matches at MSJ Fall Classic

Kasey Roeser

By Steven Wright

| Maryville Box | MSJ Box |

CINCINNATI - Sophomore libero Kasey Roeser eclipsed the 1,000-Dig mark for her career as the No. 4 Ohio Northern volleyball team defeated Maryville (Tenn.) 25-13, 25-12, 25-11 and Mount St. Joseph 25-9, 25-23, 25-20 on Day 1 of the Mount St. Joseph Fall Classic Saturday afternoon at the Harrington Center.

The Polar Bears improve to 16-1 on the year, while the Scots fall to 11-3 and the Lions fall to 7-6.

Roeser had 33 digs on the day, giving her 1,030 digs in just her second season at Ohio Northern. She is now 130 digs away from breaking into the all-time top 10 list for digs at ONU.

The Polar Bears offense was very balanced in the match against Maryville, with five different players with at least four kills.

Senior Liz Schnelle led the way with nine kills, while fellow senior middle hitter Lindsey Pruneski added seven kills and no errors on 10 attempts for a career-best .700 hitting percentage.

Ohio Northern set the tone early in Set 1 by scoring the first six points of the match. Roeser started off with back-to-back aces. Schnelle and junior Abby Schaller each had a kill, coupled with two Maryville errors, to give ONU a 6-0 lead.

In the second set, Maryville claimed its first, and only, lead of the match at 2-1 before the Polar Bears went on an 8-1 run and secure a comfortable cushion.

ONU played new faces in Set 3, as junior Kelly Smerekanich and sophomore Chelsie Timmons led the way.

Smerekanich dished out seven assists and was a force at the net with a career-high four kills on four attempts. She also had a solo block and a block assist to go along with many other would-be blocks that were covered by the Scots.

Timmons was also perfect on the attack with three kills on her only three attempts. She added a solo block as well on a middle attack.

As a team, the Polar Bears hit a season-high .386 and allowed the Scots to score only six total points off of their own serve.

Against MSJ, ONU came out on fire, winning the first set in dominating fashion 25-9. The Polar Bears built leads of 4-0, 9-1, 13-2 and 17-3 during the set.

The Polar Bears also did not allow the Lions to score any points off of serve in Set 1.

MSJ refused to quit, though, playing nearly point-for-point with ONU in the second set.

The Lions never led, but they did tie the contest at 21-21 near the end of Set 2. The Polar Bears were the first to 25, however, as Schnelle and junior Alex Christian each had a kill to go along with two MSJ errors.

ONU led 13-7 in Set 3, but MSJ battled back to make the score 15-14 in favor of the Polar Bears.

Northern then went on a 5-1 run to give them a 20-15 lead and all the distance it would need.

Ohio Northern will continue play at the MSJ Fall Classic tomorrow with matches against Bluffton and Hanover (Ind.).