"Urbana"

  For the MVNC women's volleyball team, there is certainly no place like home. On Thursday evening, the Lady Cougars knocked off Urbana University 15-6, 15-0, 15-2 in Mid-Ohio Conference action to increase their NAIA-record home winning streak to 57 consecutive matches.

  Things started out well for Urbana (2-3, 1-3) as they took an early 2-0 lead in the first game. However, that would be the last time the Blue Knights would have a lead in the match. With Tammy Custer serving, MVNC (11-3, 4-1) took a 5-2 lead behind the hitting of Courtny Testa and Christa DeLorenzo.

  The two teams traded points with the Lady Cougars holding an 8-6 lead. From that point, MVNC scored the final seven points to take the game 15-6. During that span, Rachel Widener blasted two kills and Tara Seiter added two blocks.

  The second game was all MVNC as the Lady Cougars breezed to a 15-0 victory. Seiter and DeLorenzo were the hitting stars in this game with three kills each, while Custer led the team from the service line with five points.

  Amber Rice started the third game off with an ace as she served MVNC to a quick 3-0 lead. The margin ballooned to 9-0 as Kendra Sutton served for six straight points. During that stretch, Jessica Huffaker smashed three kills and recorded a block.

  After two sideouts, Huffaker served an ace to up the lead to 10-0, and Jai Holland served for three more points and a 13-0 bulge. The Blue Knights finally scored two points to get on the board, but a kill by Sutton and a block by Testa gave the Lady Cougars a 15-2 victory.

  DeLorenzo and Seiter led the well-balanced attack with six kills each, while Custer and Huffaker finished with four kills apiece. Testa and Widener added three kills each, while Rice finished with two kills. Seiter recorded a team-high four blocks, and DeLorenzo, Testa, and Becky Jefferys each finished with two blocks.

  "This win was a good total team effort tonight," said MVNC coach Paul Swanson. "All twelve players played and they all contributed to the victory. Christa (DeLorenzo) had a great hitting night, and Jessica (Huffaker) continued to play well."

  The Lady Cougars will travel to Angola, Indiana, on Saturday to compete in the Tri-State University Tournament. MVNC will begin play in the round robin event against 12th-ranked Madonna (MI) University. Then, they will face Goshen (IN) College followed by a match-up with the host school, Tri-State.