It has been 19 years since the John Carroll University volleyball team made an appearance in the OAC Tournament championship match. The wait is over.
 
For the third time as a member of the OAC and first since 1995, the Blue Streaks advance to the championship match. John Carroll (23-6) defeated Capital (12-20) 25-23, 25-20, 25-17 on Thursday evening inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center in University Heights, Ohio.
 
John Carroll, ranked sixth in the region will take on 11th-ranked nationally Mount Union at 2 p.m. Saturday in Alliance, Ohio.
 
"It's great for this team," said third-year head coach Laura Rodeffer. "Some of them might not even have been born. We have a strong tradition here and are honored to represent the alumnae on Saturday."
 
John Carroll used an 11-6 run to close out the first set and take a narrow 25-23 win. Down 17-14, JCU used a 5-0 run to put itself up by two. A kill by Sarah Orlandi and an ace from senior Jessica Kodrich led the comeback effort. The Crusaders battled back to tie the frame at 23. A kill by Alexa Webber and an attack error by Capital's Courtney McCracken gave the set to the Blue and Gold. The Blue Streaks overcame a .258 attack percentage by the Crusaders in the first set.
 
Said Rodeffer, "Capital was doing a lot of good things. We honestly got a little lucky on some plays. I think we were definitely able to evolve as the match went on and did a better job defending them in sets two and three."
 
A late 6-1 run by John Carroll gave the Blue Streaks breathing room in the second set. Capital tied the stanza at 17. Maddie McDowell led the Blue and Gold on the run with a pair of kills. John Carroll heated up and hit .250 in the frame and had 15 kills led by Leah Switalski's four.
 
Rodeffer called timeout in the third set with her team up 21-17 to regroup. John Carroll never looked back rattling off a 4-0 win to close the match. Kills from Kit O'Shaughnessy and Webber were followed by an ace from Katie Cosker. McDowell punched the ticket to Saturday's championship with her eighth kill of the night, which tied for the team lead.
 
John Carroll outhit Capital .241 to .190 and served up nine aces on the night.
 
"Our serving has been strong all year," said Rodeffer. "The girls have been working really hard at hitting solid serves and being versatile servers. It paid off for them tonight."
 
Orlandi joined McDowell with eight kills. Cosker led the Blue Streaks with 14 digs and tied for the team lead with Mena Afsarifard with three aces.
 
John Carroll defeated Ohio Northern 3-1 in the 1993 championship and dropped a 3-1 decision to the Polar Bears in 1995.