The John Carroll University volleyball team had a lot of play for on Saturday. The Blue Streaks looked to strengthen their tournament resume and come through for their first OAC Tournament title since 1993 and just the second-ever in program history.
 
Standing in John Carroll's way was Mount Union, the only OAC team to sweep the Blue Streaks in the regular season.
 
By OAC rule, regardless of Saturday's outcome, Mount Union secured the automatic NCAA Tournament berth by winning the regular season and making the final of the tournament.
 
Mount Union (28-5) swept John Carroll (23-7) 25-18, 25-22, 25-17 on Saturday afternoon in Alliance, Ohio.
 
John Carroll looked to battle back in the first set. Down 16-10, the Blue Streaks went on a 4-0 run led by back-to-back aces from freshman Mena Afsarifard to move within striking distance at 16-14. The Purple Raiders pushed their lead back to five but a block from Maddie McDowell and Leah Switalski made the score 21-18. Mount Union rebounded after a timeout to close out the set with four straight points to take the frame 25-21.
 
The Purple Raiders ripped off a 5-0 run to begin the second set. The Blue Streaks withstood the run and pulled within one at 9-8 after a kill from Kit O'Shaughnessy. A kill from Alexa Webber gave the Blue and Gold a brief 16-15 lead. Mount Union responded with a 3-0 run. Webber would keep the Blue Streaks in the set tying the score twice. A second 3-0 run by the Purple Raiders was too much for the Blue Streaks to overcome falling in the set 25-22.
 
Mount Union opened up an early 8-point lead in the third set after a 9-1 run. John Carroll battled back to close the deficit to three at 18-15. Kills from Sarah Orlandi and Leah Svoboda coupled with a block from Orlandi and Switalski gave JCU new Tlife. However, John Carroll could not ward off a 7-2 down the stretch as Mount Union closed out the set 25-17.
 
Webber led the Blue Streaks with nine kills in the match. Katie Cosker (15) and Afsarifard (12) reached double-figures in digs.
 
Mount Union outhit John Carroll .228 to .092.
 
John Carroll will await the revelation of the NCAA Tournament selections to see if it will receive an at-large bid. If they get in, the Blue Streaks will be making their first tournament appearance since 1995. The selections will be released 11 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 10 on NCAA.com.