Match #1: John Carroll 3, Pacific Lutheran 2 (25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 23-25, 15-11)

Match #2: Thomas More 3, John Carroll 1 (25-22, 22-25, 18-25, 16-25)

Match #3: Emory 3, John Carroll 0 (19-25, 14-25, 7-25)

Match #4: John Carroll 3, Defiance 0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-23)

After losing to Case Western Reserve in the season opener, John Carroll volleyball coach Laura Rodeffer said she was interested in seeing how her team competed against national talent in their upcoming tournament trips.

The Blue Streaks (2-3) were put to the test Friday and Saturday, splitting four matches in the Calvin College Labor Day Weekend Invitational in Grand Rapids, Mi.

Junior Leah Switalski was named to the All-Tournament team after recording 55 kills, or an average of 3.7 kills per set over the four matches.

Like the season opener for John Carroll, the first match of the invite went into the tiebreaking set. This time, the Blue Streaks slammed the door on their opponent. A final kill by senior Alex Ehrett gave JCU (1-1) the five-set victory over the Pacific Lutheran Lutes (1-1) on Friday afternoon.

In the first set, the team held off a late Lutes surge for a 25-22 victory. Pacific Lutheran looked strong to start the second set, but JCU overcame an 8-0 deficit to win, 25-19. The Lutes did not give up without a fight and won the third and fourth sets by the same score, 25-23. The final set remained close, but a key block from O'Shaugnessy and a set error from the Lutes set up the JCU win.

O'Shaughnessy's 45 assists led the way in the match. Four Blue Streaks recorded double-digit digs, and junior Katie Cosker had four aces.

The Blue Streaks started strong in Friday's second match, but couldn't capitalize. They fell to Thomas More College (1-3) in four sets, winning the first and dropping three straight.

JCU held a 24-18 advantage in set one, before sophomore Kayla Major's kill crushed the rally by the Saints. A close second set ended when a furious Blue Streaks rally from five points down came up just short. Two strong performances from Thomas More in sets three and four ended the match.

Juniors Alexa Webber and Leah Switalski racked up 12 and 9 kills, respectively. O'Shaughnessy notched 35 assists and freshman Caitlin Cianciolo fired three aces.

Saturday afternoon's first match featured a battle with the national runner-up Emory University Eagles. It was a learning experience for the Blue Streaks, as the Eagles (5-0) won in straight sets.

JCU gave the nation's second-ranked team a run in the first set, rallying from seven down to close the gap to 18-16. Emory finished down the stretch and won, 25-22. In the second, the score was tied at eight before the Eagles finished on a 17-6 run. Finally, the third set was punctuated by a 20-4 run that closed out the match.

The Blue Streaks were led by O'Shaughnessy's 18 assists and 19 digs from Cosker.

The team was able to go out a winner on Saturday afternoon by sweeping Defiance College in their final matchup. The Yellow Jackets (0-4) kept the first set close, but back-to-back kills by Switalski clinched the victory.

The Blue Streaks roared out to an 12-1 start in set two, and the combination of a strong attack and Yellow Jackets errors forced a Defiance timeout to try and stop the run. There would be no stopping JCU. Multiple kills from Switalski and senior Sarah Orlandi led to an 18-4 lead at one point; the Blue Streaks won the set, 25-11.

Defiance did not go down quietly in the third set, taking a 22-21 lead late. A kill by Orlandi and late defense gave the Blue Streaks the set and the match, 25-23.

Switalski clinched her place on the All-Tournament team with another strong performance, including 11 kills. O'Shaughnessy recorded 27 assists and 13 digs. Cosker added 11 digs.

The Blue Streaks come home for the week before traveling up north once again, this time to Stevens Point, Wi. for the UW-Stevens Point Invitational on Sept. 11-12.