Nov. 14, 2008

From Washington-St. Louis Athletics

Springfield, Ohio – The No. 3 Washington University volleyball team was unable to overcome an early 2-0 deficit and saw its NCAA title defense come to an end with a 3-1 (25-15, 25-20, 20-25, 25-19) loss to No. 8 Ohio Northern University in the Midwest Regional Final of the 2008 NCAA Division III Tournament in Springfield, Ohio, on Saturday night.

Washington University had won eight-consecutive regional championships heading into Saturday night’s match, with the last loss coming at Central College (Iowa) in 1999. Washington U. defeated Ohio Northern, 3-0, in St. Louis earlier in the season, but the Polar Bears entered the regional final on a hot streak, winning 25-striaght matches. With the loss, the Bears fall to 3-1 all-time against ONU in post season action, and 22-4 all-time. The Red and Green’s last loss to Ohio Northern came in 1999.

Washington U. played most of the match without its American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) first-team All-Midwest Region right side in senior Nikki Morrison. Morrison suffered an apparent injury in the second set, and was removed from the match midway through that period with just three kills. The 2008 University Athletic Association Most Valuable Player, Morrison entered the match leading the Bears in kills (358) and attacking percentage (.386).

WU had a pair of players named to the NCAA Midwest Region All-Tournament team, senior setter Audra Janak and junior middle hitter Erin Albers. Albers led the Bears with 34 kills while hitting .418 with nine total blocks in the three postseason matches. Janak tallied 110 assists to go along with 26 digs in the Great Lakes Regional. With 3,493 assists for her career, Janak finishes No. 5 all-time at Washington University.

ONU (33-4) quickly jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the opening frame and Washington University was never closer than three scores from that point forward. Middle hitter Liz Schnelle, who leads Ohio Northern with 530 kills in 2008 was nearly unstoppable in the first frame recording eight kills in the 10-point win. Ohio Northern hit .444 as a team, with Schnelle leading the way with a .727 attacking percentage.

Washington U. was frequently caught out of system to start the second, enabling Ohio Northern to jump ahead 4-2 in the opening, moments. A kill from Albers put the Red and Green on top, 6-5, and the Bears went on a 3-0 scoring run, capped off by a block by freshman middle hitter Erin Kasson and senior outside hitter Ali Crouch, to grab an 11-8 lead, prompting an ONU timeout.

Out of the timeout, the WU run stretched to 5-0 thanks to an ace from Janak and a kill from Crouch on consecutive plays. The Washington U. lead did not last as the Polar Bears responded with an 8-2 scoring run. Schnelle tied the set at 15-15 and an attack error by Morrison allowed Ohio Northern to take a 15-16 lead.

The two schools exchanged the next few points before a 3-0 Polar Bear run, powered by a pair of Schnelle kills, broke a 17-17 tie to give ONU an insurmountable advantage. The Washington U. attack was more efficient in the second frame, as the Bears hit .250 as a team, but Great Lakes Region MVP Schnelle tallied six more kills in the second as the Polar Bears hit .333.

Making several lineup changes because of the absence of Morrison, with Crouch moving to the right side and freshman Kristen Thomas entering the match as an outside hitter, Washington U. started strong in the third, taking an 8-5 lead. But Ohio Northern came right back with a 4-1 run that tied the score at 9-9.

Washington University regrouped after head coach Rich Luenemann called a timeout, grabbing a 13-9 lead on back-to-back blocks, with Kasson involved in both plays, an assisted block with senior outside hitter Alli Alberts followed by a solo stuff.  The WU defense played a major role in the Bears’ ability to go on to pull out a 25-20 win in the third, recording 3.5 team blocks and 16 digs in the set.

Ohio Northern provided some drama as the third frame wore on, pulling within three points at 20-17, but it never drew any closer.  Kasson led the Bears with four kills in the third, a set in which Washington U. held a .357-.111 advantage in hitting percentage over the Polar Bears.

A 3-0 run including a pair of aces broke a 4-4 tie to give Ohio Northern a 7-4 lead in the third, but consecutive kills from Alberts, Thomas and Albers got the Bears right back into the match. Another scoring burst from Ohio Northern, including a pair of WU attack errors, tilted the match back in their favor and Luenemann called his second timeout of the set facing an 11-7 deficit.

Out of the timeout a setter dump from Janak appeared to get the Bears back on track, but Ohio Northern went on to pull out a 25-19 win in final set. Kasson led the Bears with 14 kills and a .458 hitting percentage, and Crouch (12) and Albers (11) joined Kasson with double digit kills. Schnelle led all players with 22 kills, hitting .432.