OMAHA, Neb. — The Ottawa University women's volleyball team battled no. 3 Concordia University (Neb.) on Friday afternoon, taking the third set before falling to the Bulldogs in four sets, 23-25, 17-25, 25-17, 13-25.
Set One: Concordia 25, Ottawa 23
The Braves fell behind 8-3 in the opening set before putting together a response.
Kira Cherry had three kills during a stretch that pulled Ottawa within 11-10, and an attack error by Concordia tied the set at 11-11.
Ottawa continued to battle throughout the set, but Concordia was able to hold off the Braves late for the 25-23 victory. OU finished the opening set with 11 kills and hit .200.
Set Two: Concordia 25, Ottawa 17
Ottawa opened the second set strong and took an 8-5 advantage behind kills from
Campbell Stark, Cherry and
Bailee Nickel. Concordia answered with a six-point swing to move in front 11-8.
The Braves stayed within striking distance and cut the deficit to 15-13, but the Bulldogs pulled away down the stretch. Concordia scored 10 of the final 14 points to take the set, 25-17, and build a 2-0 match lead.
Set Three: Ottawa 25, Concordia 17
The Braves responded in the third. After Concordia scored the first two points, Ottawa rattled off five straight to take a 5-2 lead.
Madison Brauner had an ace,
Rilyn Conard put down a kill and the OU block helped spark the run.
Ottawa continued to control the set. A
Makela Martinez ace pushed the Braves ahead 10-6, and OU eventually stretched its advantage to 18-12.
Campbell Stark, Nickel and Conard all came through with kills as Ottawa built a 23-14 advantage.
Conard finished off the set with a kill as the Braves forced a fourth set. Ottawa had 12 kills against only four attack errors in the third and hit .200.
Set Four: Concordia 25, Ottawa 13
Concordia took control early in the fourth, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and forcing an Ottawa timeout. The Bulldogs extended the advantage to 13-3 before Conard stopped the run with a kill.
The Braves continued to fight, getting late kills from Cherry, Gray, Stark and Conard, but Concordia closed out the match with the 25-13 victory.
Inside the Box Score
- Kira Cherry led Ottawa offensively with 13 kills, hitting .212 on 33 attacks. She also had two digs and a block assist.
- Rilyn Conard finished with nine kills and hit a team-best .238 among Braves with at least 20 attacks. She added three digs and a block assist.
- Campbell Stark had nine kills, hit .200 and was a factor at the net with two solo blocks and three block assists.
- Bailee Nickel recorded seven kills, while Haven Jones and Ciara Gray finished with two apiece.
- Ottawa used a two-setter attack, with Makela Martinez recording 19 assists and Madison Brauner adding 17.
- Brauner also had a strong all-around match with 11 digs and three service aces.
- Carson Schuman led the Braves defensively with 13 digs and added an ace and two assists.
- Ottawa finished with 42 kills, 38 assists, five service aces and 59 digs, hitting .109 for the match.
- The Braves' best offensive sets came in the first and third, when OU hit .200 in each.
- Concordia finished with 49 kills and a .231 hitting percentage, along with 43 assists, seven aces and 57 digs.
Who is Next
Ottawa (2-4) returns to the court for the final day of the CSM Labor Day Classic on Saturday, Sept. 5 in Omaha, Neb. The Braves will play no. 20 Morningside University at 9:00 a.m. and no. 11 Dakota Wesleyan University at 3:00 p.m.
