Tense Volleyball Match Gives Way To Sweep As Blue Streaks Fall To Purple Raiders
With fellow seniors Celia Mastroine (#10) and MaryEileen Dalton (#9) looking on, Laura Isbell (#8) puts down a kill in the second set
10/27/2009 10:09:56 PM
Two tense games to start the match eventually gave way to a sweep as Mount Union quieted an enthusiastic senior night crowd at the DeCarlo Varsity Center with a 26-24, 25-23, 25-9 triumph over host John Carroll in an Ohio Athletic Conference volleyball match Tuesday night.
Box Score
The Blue Streaks had a pair of six-point leads early on in game one (9-3 and 11-5), but could not hold off the Purple Raiders. Mount Union held a 24-21 lead, but JCU rallied with three straight points -- one on a Meredith McDiarmid kill and two on Purple Raiders hitting errors -- to pull even at 24-24. But Mount used kills by Dee Glass and Romi Schroder to win the final two points.
Game two had a similar start as John Carroll scored six of the first seven points and actually led 10-3. But the Purple Raiders would gather themselves and pull ahead 20-16. Again, Mount would have game point at 24-21, but McDiarmid had two consecutive successful attacks to bring JCU within a point. But Leah Hirsch finished off the frame with an emphatic kill for the 25-23 win.
Game three was never in doubt, as four service aces by Julie Radigan staked Mount Union an 8-0 lead. The Purple Raiders won by a 16-point margin to complete the sweep.
Mount Union (21-4, 6-1 OAC) was led by Radigan, who had 19 assists, nine digs and six aces. Sarah Parker and Melissa Mahnke each had eight kills as the Purple Raiders held on to sole possession of second place in the league standings.
John Carroll (11-16, 3-5 OAC) was paced by McDiarmid who had 17 assists and eight kills. Even with the loss, John Carroll officially qualified for next week's OAC Tournament.