In 5-Set Season Opener, Volleyball Runs out of Gas Against Yellow Jackets

Baldwin Wallace BW 1-0,0-0 OAC

John Carroll JCU 0-1,0-0 NCAC

Baldwin Wallace BW

1-0,0-0 OAC

Final

Sep. 01, 2026

John Carroll JCU

0-1,0-0 NCAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	5	F
Baldwin Wallace BW	19	25	14	25	15	(3)
John Carroll JCU	25	22	25	23	9	(2)

Summary
Box Score

Gavin Hunter

Game Recap: Volleyball | 9/1/2026 11:43:00 PM | JCUSID

In 5-Set Season Opener, Volleyball Runs out of Gas Against Yellow Jackets

The Blue Streaks couldn't quite contain the Yellow Jackets' front line

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – The season opener offered plenty of intrigue, as it's not often you start a season against a crosstown rival.

John Carroll Volleyball looked outstanding for stretches in the icebreaker but lost steam down the homestretch at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

In a 5-set affair on a sweaty night, the Blue Streaks lost a 3-2 match to Baldwin Wallace.

The first set of the season looked like the first set of the season. Net errors plagued both teams as jitters were evident. But later in the set, the Blue Streaks locked in. A Mary Kate Sheehan kill touched off a 4-0 run to help the hosts run away with a 25-19 opening set.

The Yellow Jackets held the hosts at arm's reach in the second set until JCU managed 4 points in a row, emphasized by a Sheehan block. But a service error ended the momentum and began a 7-3 stretch for BW. After JCU tied it at 20, the visitors caught fire following a timeout and evened things up with a 25-22 win.

From start to finish, the Blue Streaks dominated the third set, aided with quick kills. Baldwin Wallace struggled with receptions on hot JCU serves, leading to tapdowns by the JCU frontline. The young guns up front looked potent, particularly sophomore Grace Jones and first year Khloe Trivoli. JCU raced away with a 25-14 victory.

With a chance to put it away in the fourth set, the Blue Streaks faltered. BW managed to build early leads, though JCU clawed to within a point at 20-19. The Jackets then fired up a nice run to take it to setpoint, 24-20. A pair of bigtime JCU kills had the home crowd believing, but the Jackets finished it off, 25-23.

Baldwin Wallace's strength up front, particularly with their excellent middle hitters, proved to be the difference in the fifth set. While JCU came up with a pair of thunderous kills to even it up at six, the home team's defense ran out of gas in a 15-9 loss to end it.

Despite the loss, JCU's young players showed out. Caylynn Hovan stepped up, leading the team with 19 assists and 3 aces. Trivoli looked excellent with 9 kills, behind Sheehan's team-high 11. Olivia Mogyordy did nice work with 20 digs.

JCU did enjoy an advantage in hitting percentage at a .196 clip by avoiding errors, though BW notched 58 kills to JCU's 46.

Next Up
The Blue Streaks will head just down the road to a familiar site on Saturday, as JCU will compete in the Mount Union Tournament, first facing Marietta and then the host Purple Raiders.

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