Volleyball | at Ohio Northern | Tuesday, November 5, at 7:00 p.m. |  Video  /  Stats
 
Tournament Information Page

The 2019 John Carroll University volleyball team has had its fair shares of up and downs this season, but  they were able to reach their goal of making tournament by clinching the 8th and final spot in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament. 

On Saturday, the Blue Streaks built off their momentum gained when they upset Heidelberg last Tuesday in five sets and continued their winning ways sweeping conference opponent the Wilmington Quakers in what would be the Blue Streaks third and final conference win of the regular season. The win gave John Carroll a final regular season record of 19-10. 

After Saturday's match, John Carroll officially clinched the eight spot which was the final spot in the tournament. 

The #8 seeded Blue Streaks will travel to take on the top seed the #1 Ohio Northern Polar Bears in Ada on Tuesday night. 

John Carroll, under the direction of fourth-year head coach Michele benoit, finished its regular season with a 3-6 mark against OAC opponents. The Blue Streaks offense is led by sophomore outside hitter Cassi Calamunci with 336 kills and the third most kills in the OAC. Following Calamuni is Sarah Calabrese with 270 kills so far this year and Brooke Hjerpe trails right behind with 266 kills as well. Sophomore setter Ally Bartolone has contributed immensely to the success of the standout trio of outside hitters by setting them up. Bartolone leads the team in assists with 774 for the Blue Streaks this year.  

On the defensive side, Sophomore Anna Coughlin took over the role of defensive specialist this year and has made a memorable mark for the Blue Streaks. Coughlin leads the defense tallying 419 digs on the stat sheets for the Blue Streaks. 

Last years OAC champions Ohio Northern finished its current season with a remarkable 23-5 overall record and a 8-1 conference record, good enough for the top spot in the tournament. The Polar Bears only conference loss came against Otterbein last Tuesday. 

Ohio Northern is guided by Kate Witte who is in her 29th and final season as the Polar Bears head coach. Witte has lead her team to now 19 Ohio Athletic Conference regular season titles, and 14 OAC Tournament Championship including taking home last years OAC Tournament title. She has been named OAC Coach of the Year six times as well as AVCA regional Coach of the Year six times during her time with the Polar Bears.

Leading the way for the Polar Bears on the floor is their defensive specialist Mckenna Hostetler, who leads not only Ohio Northern but the OAC as well with 604 digs and averages 5.64 digs per set. 

The Polar Bears and Blue Streaks will meet for the 46th time on Tuesday evening, with Ohio Northern holding a clear advantage over the Blue Streaks with a  record of 46-5. John Carroll's last win against Ohio Northern dates back to Oct. 6, 2001. 

John Carroll is making its 22nd appearance in the OAC Tournament, owning a record of 11-20 in its previous 21 appearances. The Blue Streaks captured the 1993 title and were the runner-up in 1994, 1995 and 2014.

Tuesday night's winner will have a decidedly different path. The lowest remaining seed would travel to face the highest remaining seed in the semi-finals on Thursday, Nov. 7. 

Tonight's matches:

#8 John Carroll (3-6) at #1 Ohio Northern (8-1)                                                   

#7 Marietta (3-6) at #2 Muskingum (8-1)                                                       

#6 Mount Union (5-4) at #3 Otterbein (7-2)                                                            

#5 Baldwin Wallace (5-4) at #4 Heidelberg (5-4)