BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – After building a two-sets-one advantage over the defending CCAC champions Judson, the Olivet Nazarene University women's volleyball team was unable to hold off the Eagles in a 25-21, 24-26, 25-19, 19-25, 7-15 five-set defeat Saturday afternoon in McHie Arena.

ONU came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, with Analiese Fredin stringing together a five-point ONU run that featured a service ace and a pair of kills from Sabrina Sanif to open the match. The Tigers put away 15 kills on a .229 hitting percentage while limiting the Eagles to just six kills on 31 attempts to claim the first set in dominant fashion.

The Purple & Yellow Gold seemed poised to take a commanding 2-0 lead after Fredin got the Tigers out to another fast start, piecing together another five-point ONU spurt that had the team up 5-1 early. But Judson (15-9, 7-1 CCAC) rallied back to take the lead late. 

A kill from Ava Smith knotted the score at 23-23 late in the second and a Sanif kill would stave off a JU set point, but the Eagles scored two unanswered to claim the set and tie the match at one set apiece.

The Tigers got back on track with another dominant showing in the third, notching 18 kills on just four attacking errors to get back in the driver's seat. A kill from Halle Nicholas and back-to-back kills from Kelsey Todd sealed the big set for ONU.

But the Eagles refused to go away, rallying to claim the fourth set. The Tigers held an 18-17 lead late, but Judson came to life with an 8-1 run to close out the set. And the Eagles shifted that momentum into the fifth, building a big lead early to take the match.

Nicholas led ONU with 15 kills on a .333-hitting clip. Sanif also reached double digits in the category, finishing with 11.

Fredin notched nine kills to go with her three service aces while leading the team in assists with 28. Alyssa Russow added 21 assists of her own.

Four different Tigers recorded double-digit digs. Sara Serafimova led the match with 28, Natalie Wall had 14, Breanna Lamie notched 13, and Russow contributed 11.

The Tigers will stay in McHie Arena to host St. Francis (Ill.) Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu