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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Tess Humphrey celebration vs. ONU on 11-12-24
Jose Figueroa
1
Ohio Northern ONU 20-9,5-4 OAC
3
Winner John Carroll JCU 20-9,6-3 OAC
Ohio Northern ONU
20-9,5-4 OAC
1
Final
3
John Carroll JCU
20-9,6-3 OAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Ohio Northern ONU 23 18 25 14 (1)
John Carroll JCU 25 25 15 25 (3)

Next Match:

at Marietta College

11/14/2024 | 7:00 PM

Next Match

Full Schedule
Nov. 14 (Thu) / 7:00 PM
at Marietta College
History

Game Recap: Volleyball | | Jack Stephens, Staff Writer

Volleyball Advances Past ONU into OAC Tournament Semifinal

The Blue Streaks are onto the semifinals for the second time in three years

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — After some early struggles to start, the #4 seed John Carroll Blue Streaks Volleyball team roared to defeat #5 seed Ohio Northern Polar Bears in four sets to advance to the semifinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament. 

"It was a total team effort," senior Abby Bednar commented after the game about the effort the Blue Streaks showed at home in the quarterfinals. "It feels great to get a win against a good team with the way that we played."

John Carroll moves onto the OAC Semifinal for the second time in the last three years. This marks JCU's first win over Ohio Northern in the postseason since 1995. 

After the Polar Bears scored the first point, a thunderous kill from junior Kendra Dziubinski ignited the crowd in Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center. But it was the Polar Bears scoring the next six points, leading to a JCU timeout. After the break, it was more of the same, ONU capitalizing on JCU mistakes. ONU would score three more points after the timeout, making it 10-1 Polar Bears. 

The Blue Streaks got a must needed answer, scoring six of the next seven points to cut the deficit to four. The game would swing back-and-forth for a long time, and the Polar Bears maintained their four-point advantage. But a kill from OAC Newcomer of the Year Abby Bednar and an ONU service error made it 17-15 Polar Bears. Back-to-back blocks from the Blue Streaks completed the comeback, deadlocking both teams at 17. 

Ohio Northern would score five of the next seven points to take a 22-19 advantage down the stretch of the first set. Once again, JCU answered off kills from sophomores Hailey Williams and Mary Kate Sheehan. The comeback would be completed after Sheehan converted another kill to steal set one, 25-23, from the Polar Bears. 

The Blue Streak momentum continued, as the hosts scored the first four points of the ensuing set. The Blue Streaks then snagged five of the next eight points, erupting to a 9-3 lead, forcing a Polar Bear timeout. ONU began to chip away, but a big kill from sophomore Natalie Glowe regained their momentum. Both squads traded points until the Blue Streaks scored four straight to make it 22-12. Ohio Northern would score five of the next six, but their comeback would be too little too late, as a kill from Bednar sealed the deal, putting the Blue Streaks on the doorstep of advancing. JCU took set two, 25-18, over the Polar Bears.

With their season on the line, ONU scored the first three points of the third set. The Polar Bears continued to put up a fight, taking a five-point advantage, forcing a Blue Streak timeout at 11-6. The Polar Bear lead would grow to be as much as 10, until Dziubinski snagged another kill, and then a block from Bednar made it 18-10 Polar Bears. Ohio Northern notched seven of the next 13 to take set three, 25-15, to stay into the contest. 

Two straight kills from Bednar began the fourth set with a bang for JCU, as the Blue Streaks grabbed the first two points of the fourth. ONU scored two straight and then another kill from Bednar, a block from Jessica Liddle and Glowe, and a kill from Liddle made it 5-2 JCU. Ohio Northern continued to commit errors, as the Blue Streaks scored four straight to force a Polar Bear timeout, with a 9-3 John Carroll advantage. 

The lead grew to nine as the Blue Streaks led 13-4 midway through the set. The Polar Bears started to claw their way back into the set, but kills from Dziubinski and Tess Humphrey maintained a nine-point lead. The lead increased to 1- after another kill from Dziubinski and a Polar Bear service error. The dominance continued, as Bednar and Dziubinski traded kills making it 21-8 Blue Streaks. The Blue Streaks slammed the door on the emphatic victory after Mary Kate Sheehan racked up another kill, sealing the fourth set, 25-14. 

It was the Bednar and Dziubinski show offensively for the Blue Streaks, racking up 30 kills between the two of them. Humphrey and Haley Nicholson tallied 28 and 20 assists, respectively. Nicholson also tallied 13 digs. This win marks the second OAC Tournament victory in the tenure of Head Coach Michelle Benoit, and her second time reaching 20+ wins at JCU. 

"It was really nice to see our players respond to adversity," Benoit commented about the resilience the Blue Streaks showed against the Polar Bears. "They stepped up and believed in themselves the way that all of our coaches do and I'm proud of them."

Next Up
The Blue Streaks advance to take on the #1 seed and number eight nationally ranked Marietta Pioneers on Thursday at 7 pm. 
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Players Mentioned

Kendra Dziubinski

#18 Kendra Dziubinski

MH
5' 11"
Junior
Natalie Glowe

#25 Natalie Glowe

OH
6' 0"
Sophomore
Jessica Liddle

#17 Jessica Liddle

MH
5' 10"
Senior
Haley Nicholson

#13 Haley Nicholson

S/RS
5' 10"
Junior
Mary Kate Sheehan

#15 Mary Kate Sheehan

RS
5' 10"
Sophomore
Hailey Williams

#24 Hailey Williams

OH/DS
5' 8"
Sophomore
Tess Humphrey

#6 Tess Humphrey

S
5' 8"
First Year
Abby Bednar

#20 Abby Bednar

OPP/OH
6' 0"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Kendra Dziubinski

#18 Kendra Dziubinski

5' 11"
Junior
MH
Natalie Glowe

#25 Natalie Glowe

6' 0"
Sophomore
OH
Jessica Liddle

#17 Jessica Liddle

5' 10"
Senior
MH
Haley Nicholson

#13 Haley Nicholson

5' 10"
Junior
S/RS
Mary Kate Sheehan

#15 Mary Kate Sheehan

5' 10"
Sophomore
RS
Hailey Williams

#24 Hailey Williams

5' 8"
Sophomore
OH/DS
Tess Humphrey

#6 Tess Humphrey

5' 8"
First Year
S
Abby Bednar

#20 Abby Bednar

6' 0"
Graduate Student
OPP/OH

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