By Caleb Scott
SPRINGFIELD — The Ohio Northern volleyball team swept Clarkson (N.Y.) on the final day of the Wittenberg Fall Classic before falling 3-1 to No. 3-ranked Wittenberg on Saturday afternoon in Springfield.
The Polar Bears improve to 9-3 overall with the victory, while the Golden Knights fall to 5-5, and the Tigers move to 9-0.
Senior Haley Potters (Wheelersburg/South Webster), and sophomores Chelsea Huppert (Bremen, Ind.) and McKenna Jordan (Toledo/St. Ursula) each recorded 11 kills in the game one victory.
Huppert and Potters hit a blistering .474 and .448, respectively in the win.
Freshman Katie Wade (Battle Creek, Mich./Harper Creek) recorded her eighth double-double of the season with a game-high 38 assists and 10 digs.
Senior Megan Nieszala (Lambertville, Mich./St. Marys Catholic Central) added a game-high 20 digs.
Ohio Northern hit .274 as a team to go along with 44 kills.
After the first set was tied 3-3 early on, Northern would use a 5-0 run capped off by a kill form Huppert to take an 8-3 lead.
CU would close the gap to 9-8, before five attacking errors led way to a 6-0 run for Northern to regain a 15-8 lead.
ONU would go on to win the first set 25-19 on a kill from Jordan.
A 6-1 in the second set helped Northern jump out to a 13-6 lead.
The Golden Knights would close the gap to 23-14, before kills from Potters and Jordan sealed the 25-15 set two victory.
After falling in a 4-0 hole in the final set, Northern would fight back and take a 10-9 lead.
With the contest tied at 19-19, Northern used a 6-1 run led by three kills from Potters to seal the set three victory.
In the second contest Northern got off to a fast start, taking down Wittenberg in the first set 25-8.
In that set, ONU jumped out to a 7-2 lead, before pushing the lead to as many as 21-7, before ending the set on a 4-0 run.
After exchanging leads in the second set, a kill and service ace from Potters would knot the set at 23-23 before WU scored the next two points to take the set.
Potters posted a match-high 14 kills in the contest, while Huppert chipped in 11 kills.
Wade added a game-high 37 victories, while sophomore McKenna Hostetler (Plain City/Alder) recorded a team-high 23 digs.
Northern returns to action Wednesday evening as it hosts Kenyon at the ONU Sports Center at 7 pm.
