After a closely-fought sweep at the hands of Hope, John Carroll (2-2) finished strong at the Mount Union Invitational with a straight sets victory over Grove City in the final match. 

"I'm proud," said head coach Michele Benoit. "We overcame adversity, and I'm happy to see smiles on their faces. When the smiles come, that's when wins come. Because it means we're playing together."

Hope 3, John Carroll 0 (24-26, 22-25, 20-25)

Saturday afternoon's first match featured three close sets, but John Carroll (1-2) fell to unbeaten Hope (4-0) in a sweep. The combined margin was just ten points for Hope.

Leah Switalski had 12 kills, and Kit O'Shaughnessy and Nicole Pilewski had seven. Katie Cosker recorded 21 digs to give her 50 on the day; she added three aces for a total of eight. Sophia Hackett had 21 assists for Hope and 14 digs.

Hope flew out to an 8-3 lead, but kills by Webber and Pilewski helped close it to 11-9. JCU nearly leveled the score at 13 and at 19, but Hope pulled away each time. A Cianciolo ace, and kills by McDowell and Webber gave JCU a 24-23 lead, but a pair of points and an error gave Hope the win.

The second set was close as well, with JCU flying back from a 23-17 deficit to push Hope to 24-22. A kill by Katie Reitberg ended the match at 25-22. Reitberg would finish with 16 total in the match.

Once again, the Blue Streaks proved resilient in the third set. Hope held a 7-2 advantage, but a push by JCU drove the score to 12-10. A 4-0 run drove Hope to the brink once again, as Switalski, McGervey and O'Shaughnessy made it a 21-19 game. Reitberg again came up with a kill to give Hope a 24-19 lead, and a final point ended JCU's chances at 25-20.

"Hope is nationally ranked and two years ago won it all," said Webber after the tournament. "We could have easily crumbled before and after that match. It's unfortunate, but I'm so proud of the team that stepped out there together. Good teams rebound, and that's all you can ask for."

JCU 3, Grove City 0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-14)

John Carroll closed out the Mount Union Invitational with a clean sweep of Grove City on Saturday afternoon.

Alexa Webber led the way with 12 kills, followed by Maddie McDowell (nine) and O'Shaughnessy (seven). Switalski and O'Shaughnessy each had four blocks. 

JCU never trailed after the first point of the first set, ripping off a 25-18 win, including a six-point run. In the second, Grove City cut the lead to two late before falling to the Blue Streaks. In the third, JCU trailed 8-7, but rallied to take a double-digit lead and finish off the Wolverines. 

Switalski reflected on the weekend after the win. 

"We knew that having a less-experienced team meant we all needed to step up and we did that," Switalski said. "We started to trust each other and play relaxed volleyball. Overall this is a new team, and a new season and we've already started to come together."

Benoit was impressed with her squad this weekend. "Kit does it all, and she makes really good decisions," said Benoit. "She and Maddie [McDowell] are beginning to click again and trust each other and the timing is already starting to be there. Katie Cosker was a workhorse for us this weekend, and she was out there almost every minute. I'm very happy with where we can go from here."