Nov. 22, 2008

Article courtesy of Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) Sports Information Office

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University volleyball team made the most of their home court advantage in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament, easily sweeping the Eagles from Asbury College (Ky.) 25-11, 25-11, 25-12.

The Tigers came out of the gate like a team on a mission, using a 9-2 run in the opening moments to foreshadow things to come. Asbury made a valiant defensive effort to close the deficit to 12-7, but the Tiger offense regained command with 17 kills in the first set alone.

In the second set, Asbury took an early 6-5 lead before the Tigers used a 9-0 run to put thing out of reach. The Tiger offense once again flexed its muscle, pounding 18 kills in the lopsided win. Michelle McFadden (Lincoln, Ill.) and Stephanie Smith (Bourbonnais, Ill.) highlighted the set with a combined 8 kills.

In the final set, it was once again all ONU as the Tigers built a 17-7 lead on a pair of kills from Molly Goldbach (Redondo Beach, Calif.). Asbury made one final push to cut the lead to 17-10 before the Tigers went on an 8-2 run to end the match. Goldbach put an exclamation on the victory with an ace on the final point to send the Tigers to Sioux City.

Smith (Bourbonnais, Ill.) led the offensive barrage with 15 kills as McFadden (Lincoln, Ill.) added 11 kills. Terese Byrne (Downers Grove, Ill.) and Tara Schmidt (Olathe, Kan.) also chipped in with a combined 12 kills. Erin Sikora (Elgin, Ill.) posted a double-double with 30 assists and 17 digs, leading the Tigers in both categories. Overall, the Tigers attacked at a .457 clip with 47 kills while holding Asbury to only 22 kills and a .149 hitting percentage.

DeeAnn Garvin (Bloomington, Ind.) anchored the defense and serve receive with 13 digs and 10 receptions, while Smith and senior Laura Wilkens (Shannon, Ill.) added eight digs apiece. Schmidt and Sara Byrne (Downers Grove, Ill.) lead the frontcourt defense with four of the Tigers five blocks in the match. Five freshman registered aces in the match, lead by Terese Byrne’s three aces as Lauren Comfort (Joliet, Ill.) and Danielle Vander Schaaf contributed two each.

The Tigers improve to 37-9 overall.