By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Joe Meyer

BEREA, Ohio - The Baldwin Wallace University women's volleyball team took on Ohio Northern University in an Ohio Athletic Conference contest in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center. The Yellow Jackets (12-11, 3-5 OAC) took down the Polar Bears (16-7, 5-3 OAC) for the first time since 2018 and just the second time in the last decade. BW took the match in straight sets, by set scores of 25-22, 25-18, and 25-18.

SUMMARY

Ohio Northern stormed out of the gates, racing out to an 11-2 lead in set one. BW fought back by going on a 9-2 run, cutting the deficit to 13-11 on a kill by sophomore outside hitter Sydney Simonson (Sullivan/Black River). An ace by freshman defensive specialist Paige Contris (Pemberville/Eastwood) put the Yellow Jackets up 18-17, and the two teams traded points until a Simonson kill gave BW a 23-21 advantage. BW then scored two of the next three points to take the first set (25-22).

After a back-and-forth start to set two, freshman middle hitter Maleia Thurber (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) delivered a kill to put BW up 9-8. From there, the Yellow Jackets outscored ONU 8-3 to take a 17-11 lead in the set. A kill by junior setter Olivia Zawadzki (Hilliard/Darby) gave BW a commanding 20-15 lead, and the Yellow Jackets closed out set two by a score of 25-18 to take a two-set advantage. 

Ohio Northern didn't go down without a fight and took a 6-2 lead in set three. Their lead would be short-lived as BW battled back to take a 12-8 lead, forcing a Polar Bear timeout. The Yellow Jackets continued to apply pressure out of the timeout, taking a 21-15 lead. After Ohio Northern closed the gap to 22-18, a kill by sophomore outside hitter Sam Rueda (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) restored BW's momentum. Back-to-back blocks by the trio of senior Academic All-OAC middle hitter Isa Luciano (Willoughby/South), Zawadzki, and Simonson closed out the third set (25-18) and the match (3-0).

KEY STATS

10 - Freshman defensive specialist Jamie Snell (Strongsville) notched a career-high ten digs.
10 - Thurber led the BW attack with a team-high ten kills
11 - Sophomore all-OAC libero Lauren Gardner (Avon/St. Joseph Academy) and Rueda recorded eleven digs each, leading the team
7 – Luciano finished with a match-high seven blocks and added five digs and three kills on no errors
9 - Simonson totaled nine kills
29 & 10 - Zawadzki dished out 29 assists and tallied 10 digs, and added four kills

UP NEXT

BW concludes the regular season on Saturday, October 29, when the Yellow Jackets host Capital University for Senior Day. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.