CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The (RV) Ottawa University men's volleyball team showed flashes of strong play and resilience on the road, but ultimately fell in straight sets to (5) Mount Mercy, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-17) on Saturday afternoon in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the Heart Tournament Quarterfinals.

Set-by-Set Recap
Set 1 – Mount Mercy 25, Ottawa 17
Ottawa came out competitive early, tying the set at 9-9 after back-to-back points fueled by Mustang errors and solid net play. The Braves got key kills from Kadeem Morris and Macort Pickup to stay within striking distance. However, Mount Mercy used a late run to stretch the lead to 21-13 and never looked back. Ottawa added a few late points behind Petar Lazic, but the Mustangs closed out the set.

Set 2 – Mount Mercy 25, Ottawa 22
The Braves kept things tight throughout, using balanced offense and timely errors from Mount Mercy to stay within one or two points. Midway through the set, Ottawa rallied from a 10-14 deficit to cut it to 14-15, highlighted by kills from Pickup and Zolnjan. Late in the set, Ottawa pulled within 23-22, but Mount Mercy finished on a 2-0 run to take a commanding 2-0 match lead.

Set 3 – Mount Mercy 25, Ottawa 17
The Braves once again showed fight, trimming an early deficit and closing the gap to 12-17 with a strong stretch that included a service ace from Marko Zolnjan. Ottawa continued to battle late, getting multiple kills from Lazic, but the Mustangs responded with a decisive run to seal the sweep. Ottawa Leaders

• Petar Lazic led the Braves with 9 kills and added a block
• Macort Pickup finished with 8 kills and 4 digs
• Marko Zolnjan contributed 4 kills and a service ace
• Quentin Le Dortz dished out 15 assists to lead the offense
• Ottawa totaled 25 kills as a team

Stats Recap

• Ottawa finished with 25 kills on .067 hitting
• The Braves recorded 28 digs and 4 total blocks
• Ottawa kept pace in Set 2, hitting .062 in their closest frame
• Mount Mercy out-hit Ottawa .284 to .067
• The Mustangs were led by Curdin Acklin with 13 kills on .579 hitting
• Ottawa held Mount Mercy to just 3 service aces, but committed 8 service errors

Ottawa finishes the season with an overall record of 19-11 and a seventh place finish in the Heart with a record of 12-8. OU's 19 wins are the second most in program history.