Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Dalton Christopher
Assistant Athletic Director - Communications & Media
dchristopher@transy.edu

LEXINGTON, KY - Transylvania University defeated Northern Ohio University and Otterbein University at the Transy Invitational Saturday. The two wins give the Pioneers their seventh and eighth straight victories. 

In the opening set against Ohio Northern, the Pioneers would accumulate 21 kills en route to a 25-22 set victory. Isabella Myers would have six of those kills, including an impressive four straight late in the set. Grace Ward was a key difference maker in the opening set, assisting on 19 Transy points. 

After a competitive exchange in set one, set two would see the Pioneers mount an offensive run out of the gate, with Grace Ward's kill striking first for Transy. Kayden Holcomb's ace would give the Pioneers an early 10-3 advantage. Isabella Myers would once again be a force for Transy, again scoring three straight kills to advance the lead to 19-13. Addie Atcher's kill would secure the set two victory, 25-18. 

In the final set, the Pioneers would build an 11-5 advantage early. Cate Scheper would land four consecutive kills for Transy, giving the Pioneers a 20-9 lead. Grace Ward would assist on an Isabella Myers kill to end the set at 25-18, giving Transy a 3-0 victory in the first match of the afternoon. 

Transy scored 53 kills and recorded 49 assists in the opening match with Ohio Northern. The Pioneers would also score five aces. 

In the opening set against Otterbein, Transy found themselves in a competitive back and forth with the Cardinals. Transy opened with an 11-6 advantage, to which Otterbein would battle back from to cut the lead to one at 17-16. Transy would respond with a kill from Addie Atcher to take a 19-17 lead. Moments later, Grace Ward's kill would extend the lead to 21-17. The Cardinals would not go away, scoring four straight points to tie the score at 22-22. Kayden Holcomb's kill would give Transy a 25-24 advantage. It would be Cate Scheper and Isabella Myers with two late kills that would help seal the set one win for Transy, 28-26.

Following the hard fought set one win, Transy would open the second set with a 13-4 lead following an impressive 8-0 run from the Pioneers featuring three kills from Atcher. Transy would never lose their lead in the second set, and would follow their early run with another 6-0 run to take a 23-9 advantage with kills from Scheper, Myers and Holcomb. A block from Atcher would score the deciding point for Transy, with the Pioneers winning set two 25-15. 

Otterbein would start set three with an 11-6 lead before a 5-0 run would tie things up for the Pioneers. Transy would eventually take a 21-20 lead, but the Cardinals would respond with a run to take the 24-21 advantage. Megan Sweeney's kill would keep Transy in the set, but Otterbein's Chandler Crowell would score the deciding kill, giving the Cardinals a 25-22 set three victory. 

In set four, Transy would open with a 9-2 advantage that they would never lose. A kill from Myers, assisted from Grace Ward, would give Transy an 18-12 lead. The Cardinals would respond, mounting a run late to set up an exciting final exchange to end set four. Otterbein would score three straight to cut the lead to 21-19. Scheper and Holcomb would respond for Transy, taking a 23-19 advantage. The Cardinals would score three straight moments later to create a one point deficit, 24-23. Isabella Myers would score the final kill, assisted from Grace Ward, to win the set 25-23, and get the 3-1 victory over Otterbein. 

Grace Ward would once again be pivotal in the victory, serving 41 assists in the match. Myers would lead Transy with 14 kills, followed by Atcher with 13. 

Head Coach Amy Barmore was proud of her team's performance in both wins Saturday. 

"It was a true team effort today, Otterbein and Ohio Northern are very good teams and these wins are going to hold up at the end of the season," said Barmore. "I thought our talent level shone through and allowed us to come out on top."

Up next for Transy is a road trip to Springfield, Ohio to take on Wittenberg on Wednesday, September 25th, at 7 p.m.