BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — Olivet Nazarene (IL) (9-11, 2-3) secured a decisive 3-0 victory over Aquinas (MI) (3-13, 2-7) on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers achieved a .306 hitting percentage across the match, highlighted by 14 kills in the second set.

The first set began with tight exchanges before Olivet Nazarene secured a lead with a series of key plays. Cameron Johnston opened the scoring with a kill, assisted by Tomas Gonzalez. The Saints responded with back-to-back service aces from Connor Staats, taking an early 3-1 advantage. However, Olivet Nazarene regained momentum, highlighted by a service ace from Gonzalez at 11-11, and extended its lead with defensive stops, including a block by Ben Kreke. Despite service errors from both teams, Olivet Nazarene closed the set with a decisive kill by Joe Akeo, also facilitated by Gonzalez, securing a 25-19 victory in the opening set.

In the second set, Olivet Nazarene edged out Aquinas with a 25-22 victory. The set saw strong performances from both teams, with Gonzalez consistently assisting his teammates, including crucial kills by Johnston at 13-12 and again at the end to close the set at 25-22. Aquinas managed to keep the score close, leveraging service aces, including one from Colin Ilagan to bring the score to 23-21. Despite Aquinas' efforts, a series of attack errors and Olivet Nazarene's effective blocking, notably from Johnston, allowed the Tigers to maintain their lead and secure the set.

Olivet Nazarene secured a 25-21 win in the third set, highlighted by a strong start from Tyler Van Laten, who notched a service ace and capitalized on a bad set by Aquinas to help build an early 6-2 lead. Johnston delivered critical plays throughout, including a kill from Gonzalez to extend the lead to 16-12 and later securing match point with a block alongside Kreke against Jayden Sturdevant at 24-21. Despite some service errors on both sides, Olivet Nazarene maintained control, with key contributions from Austin Love and Max Rodenmeyer, each adding pivotal points to fend off the Aquinas rallies.

Johnston led the team with a remarkable .765 hitting percentage, recording 13 kills on 17 attempts while contributing three digs. Gonzalez facilitated the attack with 26 assists and added two solo blocks. Kreke was effective at the net, posting five kills and registering four total blocks. Van Laten contributed defensively with six digs and recorded two assists.

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