OMAHA, Neb. — The Ottawa University women's volleyball team fell to no. 20 Morningside University in three sets, 25-21, 25-16, 25-16, on Saturday morning at the College of Saint Mary.
Ottawa finished the match with 30 kills and four service aces, while Morningside totaled 38 kills and eight aces. The Braves were held to a .061 attacking percentage, while the Mustangs hit .220.
Set One: Morningside 25, Ottawa 21
Ottawa came out strong and grabbed an early 6-4 advantage behind kills from
Bailee Nickel,
Campbell Stark,
Ciara Gray and
Rilyn Conard. Morningside answered with five straight points to take a 9-6 lead.
The Braves battled back after falling behind 13-8. Kills by
Kira Cherry and Stark helped OU pull within one, 14-13. Later, Gray served an ace as part of a four-point Ottawa run that turned a 17-14 deficit into an 18-17 advantage.
The teams were tied at 20-20 before Morningside closed the set on a 5-1 run to earn the 25-21 victory.
Haven Jones provided Ottawa's final kill of the set.
Set Two: Morningside 25, Ottawa 16
The Braves and Mustangs went back and forth early in the second set. Ottawa took a 6-5 lead on a Morningside attack error and was tied with the Mustangs at 8-8 following a Gray kill.
Morningside then built a 12-8 advantage, but Ottawa responded. Stark and Conard recorded kills before
Madison Brauner's service ace tied the set at 12-12. Gray later served an ace to pull OU within one, 15-14.
The Mustangs took control from there, using an 8-0 run to turn a 15-14 advantage into a 23-14 lead. Nickel stopped the run with a kill, but Morningside finished the set, 25-16.
Set Three: Morningside 25, Ottawa 16
Ottawa again stayed with Morningside early. Nickel opened the set with a kill, Cherry had two early kills, Stark added another and Nickel's service ace gave the Braves a 5-4 lead.
The set remained tied at 7-7 after a kill by
Asaiah Littlefield, but Morningside followed with a 6-1 run to take a 13-8 advantage. Cherry and Nickel helped Ottawa stay within striking distance, but the Mustangs continued to extend their lead.
Ottawa scored back-to-back points late on kills from Cherry and Nickel to make it 23-15. Nickel added another kill at 24-16 before Morningside finished the match with a kill for the 25-16 victory.
Inside the Box Score
- Bailee Nickel led the Braves with nine kills, adding one service ace and one block assist for 10.5 points.
- Campbell Stark finished with eight kills and a .227 attacking percentage. She was a force at the net with three solo blocks and three block assists, finishing with a team-high 12.5 points.
- Kira Cherry recorded five kills on 13 attacks, hitting a team-best .308, and added two block assists.
- Makela Martinez led Ottawa with 14 assists, while Madison Brauner added 12 assists, 10 digs and one service ace.
- Carson Schuman led the Braves defensively with 15 digs and also had two assists.
- Ciara Gray recorded two service aces, two kills and one block assist.
- Ottawa finished with 30 kills, 30 assists, four service aces, 47 digs and eight total blocks (three solo, 10 block assists).
- The Braves improved offensively in the third set, hitting .212 with 12 kills and five errors, their best attacking percentage of the match.
Who is Next
Ottawa (2-5) plays its final match of the CSM Labor Day Classic at 3:00 p.m. against no. 11 Dakota Wesleyan University.
