Ohio 3, Northern Illinois 0
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DeKALB, Ill. -- The Ohio volleyball team (12-7, 12-7 MAC) swept Northern Illinois (8-14, 8-14 MAC), 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-23), on Saturday afternoon at Victor E. Court. With the win, Ohio clinched a spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. 

"Great weekend for our team here at NIU," said head coach Deane Webb. "It is difficult to win at NIU, and earning sweeps on back to back days is impressive. After a great 6-1 finish to regular season, we now turn our sights on the postseason opportunity in front of us."

Ohio attacked at a .366 clip as a team, and was led by senior middle blocker Tia Jimerson (Sugar Hill, Ga.), who had 19 kills on 23 swings and hit an impressive .783 while adding six blocks and an ace. Both sophomore outside hitter Olivia Margolies (Galena, Ohio) and senior opposite Maggie Nedoma (Brook Park, Ohio) each added seven kills. Sophomore opposite Emily Margolies (Galena, Ohio) and redshirt freshman Caitlin O'Farrell (Suwanee, Ga.) produced five kills each. 

Senior setter Vera Giacomazzi (San Vendemiano, Italy) guided Ohio's offense with 35 assists and added eight digs and three kills. 
"Vera did a great job directing our offense this weekend, leading us to hit .400 last night and .366 today," said Webb. "Tia was almost unbelievably good today. Nineteen kills on 23 attempts, and six blocks in a three-set match."

The Bobcats outdug NIU, 40-28, with freshman libero Sam Steele (Omaha, Neb.) adding a match-high 11 digs.

"Our team has shown great resiliency this year, and we are playing our best volleyball of the year right now," said Webb. "Several players have stepped into roles they weren't filling two weeks ago, and they have responded to the challenges in front of them."

Ohio is the No. 3 seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament and will face No. 2 Western Michigan at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio on Friday, April 2. 

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—A five-set, come-from-behind win at Central Michigan University on Saturday afternoon catapulted the Miami University volleyball team to its fifth-straight win and a berth in the four-team Mid-American Conference Tournament next weekend. Behind a career-high 23 kills from junior Gaby Harper, the RedHawks pulled out the thrilling 23-25, 20-25, 25-15, 25-23, 15-7 win against the Chippewas. Miami moves to 13-8 on the season and in MAC action, while CMU finishes its season at 11-11.

Bowling Green 3, Buffalo 0
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Buffalo, N.Y. - The Bowling Green State University volleyball program closed out the regular season with yet another sweep on Saturday (March 27), marking the team's 11th sweep of the season. The Falcons won the first and second sets by wide margins, but Buffalo battled back in the third set, sending it to extra points to decide a winner. In the end, it was once again Bowling Green capturing a 3-0 win. With the win the Falcons close out the regular season at 20-1, marking the team's second consecutive 20+ win season, being the first back-to-back 20+ win seasons since the Falcons registered three straight from 2006-2008. Now, Bowling Green will shift their attention to the MAC Championship which they will host next weekend on April 2 and 3. 

Western Michigan 3, Kent State 0
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KALAMAZOO, Mich. – In the final match of the regular season the Western Michigan volleyball team defeated the Golden Flashes of Kent State in three sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-15) on Saturday afternoon inside University Arena to secure its third straight sweep.

Western Michigan has now won 11 of its last 12 matches including three straight 3-0 victories. WMU ends the season with an overall and MAC record of 17-4 and is the No.2 seed in the upcoming MAC tournament. WMU will square off with No.3 seed Ohio in the MAC Tournament Semifinals on Friday, April 2 at 7:00 p.m.

It was once again a stellar offensive performance by the Broncos on Saturday, hitting .324 as a team with four players hitting over .300 and two player recording double-digit kills. WMU held Kent State to a .154 hitting percentage while the Golden Flashes had 19 attack errors and six service errors.

Leading the way for WMU was senior outside hitter Rachel Bontrager with 17 kills while registering a .500 hitting percentage. It's the 18th straight match Bontrager has recorded double-digit kills. The Valparaiso, Ind., native also had seven digs to go along with two blocks. With 1,613 career kills, Bontrager is now just the second player in school history to reach 1,600 kills in a career.

For the 11th straight match sophomore Maggie King had double-digit kills with 12. King hit .333 and registered four blocks to go along with two digs. In the sweeps of Kent State this weekend King has 25 kills for the Brown & Gold, averaging 4.17 kills per set.

Third on the team in kills was Charley Andrew with seven to go along with a staggering .700 hitting percentage. Andrews was also dominant at the net posting a season-high five blocks. Behind Andrews was the trio of Meredith Phillips, Cassandra Smigiel and Abi Wilcoxson with three kills along with Logan Case with one.

Case paced the Broncos with 39 assists along with four digs and one service ace. Case recorded 74 assists in two matches against Kent State, averaging a stellar 12.3 per set. Defensively WMU had two players with double-digit digs led by senior Kaley Smith with 15. Smith has now recorded double-digit digs in five straight matches. Freshman Andelyn Simkins earned 12 digs against the Golden Flashes, two shy of her career-high.

Western Michigan ends the regular season with an overall and MAC record of 17-4. The Broncos' 17 MAC wins is tied for the second most in a single-season in school history and the most since having 17 back in 2000.

The Broncos head to the MAC Tournament hosted by Bowling Green as the No.2 seed and will square off with No.3 seed Ohio on Friday, April 2 at 7:00 p.m. The MAC Championship Match is scheduled for Saturday, April 3 at 5:00 p.m. All games of the MAC Tournament will be streamed on ESPN Plus.

Eastern Michigan 3, Ball State 2
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) –– In its final game of the 2020-21 season, the Eastern Michigan volleyball team defeated Ball State University in five sets (25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 19-25, 15-13), Saturday, March 27, inside the Convocation Center. The Eagles finished the shortened campaign at 8-12.
 
Prior to the start of the contest, the Eagles honored redshirt senior Carissa Spalt (Tucson, Ariz.-Sabino) for her dedication to the program. Spalt's highlights include a career high 10 kills and .529 kill percentage against Florida A&M in 2019. Spalt got the start in her final match as an Eagle and recorded a season-high seven kills. 
 
It was a night to remember on offense for the Eagles as several players tallied season and career highs. Senior Franki Strefling (Niles, Mich.-Buchanan) led the charge with 19 kills, while adding 19 digs. Aiding the attack was senior April Houston (Minneapolis, Minn.-Southwest), who tied a career-high with 16 kills. 
 
Additionally, redshirt sophomore Raeven Chase (Toronto, Ont.-Michael Power St. Joseph Catholic) tallied a season-high 11 kills, while sophomore Jayden Otto (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge) dished out 53 assists. 
 
Defensively, Chase proved why she is the conference leader in blocks per set, collecting a program record 15 blocks. The previous record was held by Sam Falco when she notched 11 blocks versus Northern Illinois, Sept. 29, 2017.
 
Helping out the defensive effort, freshman Bella Hommes (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Forest Hills Northern) had 23 digs, while sophomore Alayna Jansky (Mukwonago, Wis.-Mukwonago) added 10. Helping Chase on the front line, Strefling had five blocks, while Spalt and Otto each added four. 
 
After a three set loss last night, the Eagles got on the board early in the second match of the weekend, winning the opening set, 25-21. In a back and forth game, neither team could gain much of an advantage until late in the set. With the score tied at 18-18, the Eagles found some offensive momentum, thanks in large part to a pair of service aces by Hommes. The Green and White jumped out to a 24-19 advantage, and Otto put the nail in the coffin, collecting the final kill of the opening game. 
 
Much like the first set, the second game of the match was close throughout. There were nine ties, with the last coming at 16-16. Like it had in the first set, Eastern put together a run, and won three straight points to take a 19-16 lead. From there, the Cardinals would get as close as one point, but a Strefling kill ended the game, 25-23. Playing a key role in the victory was Houston, who tallied five kills in the set. 
 
With one more set needed to clinch the match, the Eagles came out swinging, jumping ahead 8-4. The Cardinals responded, however, with an 8-2 run to take a 12-10 lead. The run was halted by a Spalt kill, and the Green and White would battle back to tie the game at 15. After trading runs, the two teams would find themselves all square at 20. From there, the Cardinals would take three of the next four points to go up 23-21, forcing an EMU timeout. Out of the timeout, the Eagles would get as close as one, but the Cardinals would go on to close out the game, 25-23. 

Carrying the momentum from the previous set, the Cardinals raced out to a 5-1 lead before the Green and White stormed back to take an 8-7 advantage. The fourth set would go back-and-forth before landing at 14-14. From there, Ball State would take the next six points, and eventually close out the set, 25-19, pushing the match to a pivotal fifth game. 
 
In a deciding fifth set, the Eagles were the aggressor early, jumping out to a 4-2 lead. After tying the game at five, EMU forced a Cardinals timeout by taking two consecutive points to take a 7-5 lead. A Chase block continued that run out of the timeout, but the Cardinals secured the following point, making the score 8-6. Ball State would battle back to tie the score at 12-12, making the Green and White call a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Eagles would win three of the next four points to claim the victory. 
 
With the Mid-American Conference shrinking the size of the conference tournament, the Eagles didn't qualify for postseason play. EMU will take a short break before it starts to prepare for next year's fall season. 

Akron 3, Toledo 2
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AKRON, Ohio – The Akron women's volleyball team ended the 2020-21 season with a series sweep of the Toledo as the Zips defeated the Rockets 3-2 by scores of 28-26, 20-25, 20-25, 25-21 and 15, winning in back-to-back nights at James A. Rhodes Arena.
 
On Friday night, Toledo won the first two sets, forcing the Zips to win three-consecutive sets to claim the match, but on Saturday, Akron posted the first set win 28-26. The opening set to the season finale needed extra points to decide the winner and featured nine tied scores and three lead changes. Akron led by as many as eight points, 19-11, before the Rockets began to chip away at the Zips' lead.
 
Junior RS Teagan Ochaya (Mentor, Ohio) floored a kill to make the score 20-12 and a Rockets' hitting error kept the Zips' lead at eight points, 21-13. Toledo retaliated with a 7-0 run and narrowed the Zips advantage to 21-20 before a service error ended the run, 22-20. The Zips and the Rockets traded points the rest of the way until an attacking error by the Rockets gave Akron a one-point advantage, 27-26, and senior Taylor Kuruzovich (Port Matilda, Pa.) ended the set with a service ace.
 
The Rockets answered by winning the second and third sets by 25-20 scores but could not close out the match as Akron claimed the fourth set 25-21. The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle throughout, presenting 13 stalemates and four lead changes.
 
With the score tied 13-all, Toledo established the first two-point advantage of the set with a kill and an Akron attacking error, 15-13. Junior Megan Kelly (Lakewood, Ill.) floored the next point for the Zips, but the Rockets rallied for to score three of the next four points, 18-14. After a Rockets' service error, Ochaya and senior Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) sent consecutive kills to the floor and senior Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) distributed three consecutive service aces and an attacking error gave the Zips a 21-18 lead, forcing UT to call a second timeout. Adleta pounded out another kill and senior libero Taylor Sharrits (Concord, Ohio) ended the set with a service ace.
 
In the fifth and deciding set, Akron flew to a 4-0 advantage and maintained the lead throughout. The Zips led by as many as six points, 10-4, when a late surge by Toledo narrowed the margin to three, 11-8, as Akron called timeout to regroup. Ochaya floored the next two kills for Akron and junior LS Jen Durra ( Painesville, Ohio) ended the match with a kill.
 
Ochaya and Adleta led Akron's offense with 15 kills each. Ochaya added three block assists and Adleta registered one. Kelly followed with 10 kills and two blocks while junior MB Hannah Yaconis (Batavia, Ill.) posted a team-high three blocks. Sharrits led the defensive efforts on the ground with 41 digs.
 
Weigand recorded 46 assists and handed out four of the Zips' 13 service aces. Adleta added three aces and Sharrits accounted for one, while Kuruzovich posted a team-best five aces in her final match wearing the blue and gold.