There were moments tonight at the DeCarlo Varsity Center where the differentiation between the upstart team and the nationally ranked team was negligible.

But after three closely contested sets, the #16 ranked Ohio Northern Polar Bears got the separation they needed to close out the host John Carroll Blue Streaks by a final of three games to one.

After the first three games, Ohio Northern had scored 69 points and John Carroll had scored 68. But the Polar Bears had the one significant run by either team tonight in the fourth game, bursting away from a 5-5 tie by scoring 11 of the next 15 points to essentially seal the match.

It had been a week since their last competition, but the Blue Streaks took little time to knock off the proverbial rust. In the opening set, Ohio Northern had run out to a 16-11 lead only to have the Blue Streaks chase them down and pass them. A Rachel Bleile service ace gave John Carroll a 22-21 lead. 

But the Polar Bears quickly righted the ship and scored three of the final four points to take game one, 25-23. Chelsea Huppert had the final two points for ONU.

John Carroll showed great resolve and fought back to even the match in game two. Just as it had been for most of game one, it was a back-and-forth affair. After 30 points, the two teams were tied at 15-15.

Behind the serving of Audrey Hardig and the attacks of Cassi Calamunci, JCU had its biggest run of the match, firing off four consecutive points for a 19-15 lead. The Polar Bears never got closer than two points the rest of the way as Emma Abfall put the finishing touches on a 25-19 victory with a kill on the final point.

Game three would prove decisive in many ways, and it had that feel from the get go. Once again, the two teams slugged it out in the early going and it remained tight until the latter stages. Neither team led by more than two points when the match reached 17-17.

John Carroll briefly took an 18-17 lead on an Aly Bartolone kill, but Ohio Northern won the next point to bring McKenna Hostetler to the service line. The Polar Bears would go on a 6-0 run fueled by two aces from Hoistetler, and would take game three, 25-20.

That momentum seemed to carry over into the fourth frame, where Ohio Northern had 15 kills against just one error to close out the match.

Calamunci lead the Blue Streaks with 18 kills.  Hardig and Sarah Calabrese each chipped in 11 kills. Caitlin Cianciolo led the Blue and Gold with 25 digs, followed by Calabrese with 12 digs.  Hardig had one solo block and two block assists, and Carleen Ellerbruch recorded two solo blocks.

Ohio Northern was paced by 16 kills and three blocks from Hippert, while Katie Wade had 48 assists.

After tonight's competition, the Blue Streaks fall to 10-5 the season and 0-1 in the OAC.  Ohio Northern improves to 11-3 overall and 1-0 in league play.

John Carroll will continue to play at home this Saturday, September 29, taking on Muskingum University at 12:00 P.M. and Mount Vernon Nazarene University at 2:00 P.M.