Box Score After a difficult start to the season, the John Carroll women's volleyball team went into Tuesday night's contest riding the momentum of a four-match winning streak.

Unfortunately for the Blue Streaks, the momentum did not last long.

John Carroll's early challenge was not enough to defeat the #14 University of Mount Union Purple Raiders (17-5, 4-0 OAC), as they took the match in three games, 25-16, 25-14, 25-20.

The first set was a battle, as neither team could hold on to momentum. After JCU took a 9-8 lead, however, an 11-4 stretch by the Purple Raiders helped them cruise to a 25-16 win. Charlotte Sykora and Sarah Orlandi each had three kills in the first game.

John Carroll overcame an early 5-1 deficit to cut the lead to just two points in set two, but another Mount Union run led to a 25-14 win for the Purple Raiders. The final frame saw the Blue Streaks make a late charge to cut the lead to just four, but the Purple Raiders were too much, finishing the sweep with a 25-20 win.

The collective height of the Raiders' players played a key role in the contest, as Mount Union racked up 11 blocks. Sarah Schleich and Brittany Woodard accounted for 12 and 11 assists, respectively, for the Purple Raiders.

John Carroll fought to keep it close on the scoreboard, but could not overcome 17 attack and four reception errors. Sykora finished with eight kills and Ellie Rafoth and Jessica Kodrich led the way with 12 assists for the Blue Streaks.

It was the 14th consecutive loss in the Ohio Athletic Conference for John Carroll, dating back to a Novemer 2, 2010 defeat to Ohio Northern in the OAC quarterfinals.  The Blue & Gold fall to 10-14 overall, and are winless in four league matches.

The team will travel to Muskingum on Saturday, where the Streaks swept the Fighting Muskies in their last visit on October 15, 2010.