"Ohio Dominican"

  The MVNC women's volleyball team overcame a sluggish first game to defeat Ohio Dominican College 12-15, 15-4, 15-4, 15-4 in a Mid-Ohio Conference match on Tuesday night.

  With the victory, the Lady Cougars (31-7, 14-1) remained one win behind Walsh University in the race for the MOC crown. MVNC also extended its NAIA-record home winning streak to 64 consecutive matches dating back to 1991.

  "This was a good win for us tonight," said MVNC head coach Paul Swanson. "Despite losing the first game, we stayed focused to win the last three games. We showed good competitive consistency and did the little things that it took to win the match."

  The Lady Panthers (18-11, 9-5) scored the first four points of game one before the Lady Cougars ran off four points of their own. Then, MVNC took a 10-8 lead behind the hitting of Rachel Widener as she blasted four kills.

  However, ODC rebounded to scored the next six points for a 14-10 lead. Following an ace by Tara Seiter and a kill by Courtny Testa, the Lady Panthers scored another point to take the game 15-12.

  The Lady Cougars roared out to a 9-0 lead in the second game behind two kills and a block by Testa and a kill each by Seiter, Amber Rice, and Tammy Custer. After ODC scored four points to trim the lead to 9-4, Testa served MVNC ahead 13-4 with help from the blocking of Seiter and the hitting of Widener.

  Following a pair of sideouts, Widener served for a point and then Custer and Seiter combined on a block to give the Lady Cougars a 15-4 victory.

  The third game was a see-saw battle early on as the teams traded points to 4-4. Then, Testa recorded four blocks and a kill as MVNC took an 11-4 lead. After the teams traded sideouts, Mandy Metzger served the Lady Cougars to a 15-4 victory as she notched three aces and Becky Jefferys added a kill.

  The Lady Panthers took an early 3-2 lead in the fourth game before MVNC scored eleven straight points for a 13-3 margin. Rice fueled the run with three kills, while the team recorded four blocks.

  After ODC scored a point, Testa and Widener pounded back-to-back kills to give the Lady Cougars a 15-4 win and the match.

  "We had a lot of people play well tonight," said Swanson. "Amber (Rice) came in and did a great job hitting and blocking. Courtny (Testa) and Tammy (Custer) also had good all-around games."

  Widener led the team with 20 kills, while Seiter added 15 kills. Testa finished with 10 kills and a team-high eight blocks. Custer and Rice each added nine kills, and Seiter and Widener contributed four blocks apiece. Metzger served up a team-leading three aces.

  MVNC will be back in action on Tuesday evening when they host Walsh in a battle for the top spot in the conference.