OMAHA, Neb. — The Ottawa University women's volleyball team opened play in Omaha on Friday afternoon against one of the top teams in the country, falling 3-0 to No. 2 Northwestern College at the Lied Center.
The Braves battled the Red Raiders throughout the match but Northwestern earned the sweep, 25-15, 25-21, 25-15.
Set One: Northwestern 25, Ottawa 15
Northwestern jumped out to a 3-0 advantage before Ottawa answered with three straight points. Back-to-back kills from
Bailee Nickel and
Ciara Gray tied the set at 3-3. The Braves remained within striking distance early, trailing 9-7 following another Nickel kill. Northwestern, however, used a 4-0 run to extend its lead to 13-7. Ottawa pulled within six at 20-14, but the Red Raiders closed the set by scoring five of the final six points for the 25-15 victory.
Set Two: Northwestern 25, Ottawa 21
Northwestern took control early in the second, building a 12-3 advantage. Ottawa refused to go away. Trailing 20-12, the Braves put together their best run of the match. Two Northwestern errors, a Nickel kill and a
Makela Martinez service ace capped a four-point run that pulled OU within 20-16 and forced a Northwestern timeout. The Braves continued to battle, getting kills from
Kira Cherry and Gray to cut the deficit to 22-19. Ottawa fought off one set point before Northwestern secured the 25-21 win.
Set Three: Northwestern 25, Ottawa 15
Ottawa grabbed its first lead of the match to begin the third. Cherry opened the set with a kill and
Carson Schuman followed with a service ace for a 2-0 OU advantage. After Northwestern moved in front 7-3, the Braves battled back to within two, 9-7, behind kills from Nickel and
Rilyn Conard. Northwestern responded with a 6-1 run to take a 15-8 lead. Ottawa later pulled within four, 17-13, but the Red Raiders finished the match on an 8-2 run for the 25-15 victory.
Inside the Box Score
- Nickel led the Braves offensively, finishing with 12 kills and a .242 attacking percentage. She also had eight digs and two block assists.
- Gray totaled six kills, one service ace and seven points, while Conard added five kills and two block assists.
- Campbell Stark finished with four kills and a team-high four block assists.
- Schuman led Ottawa from the service line with two aces and added seven digs.
- Madison Brauner handed out a team-high 14 assists and Martinez finishing with 11 assists and an ace.
- The Braves finished with 30 kills, 16 attack errors and a .152 hitting percentage. OU improved offensively throughout the match, hitting .065 in the first, .114 in the second and .308 in the third.
- Ottawa recorded 33 digs, four service aces and five total blocks (one solo, eight block assists).
- Northwestern hit .381 for the match with 47 kills and just 10 errors. The Red Raiders hit .484 in the third set.
- Northwestern's Stella Winterfeld led all players with 23 kills while hitting .625.
Who is Next
Ottawa (2-3) will now play no. 3 Concordia University (Neb.) in its second match of the CSM Labor Day Classic. The match is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m.
