LIVONIA, Mich. – The 23rd-ranked Madonna University volleyball team did something on Friday night that hasn't been done in nine years - dropped back-to-back Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference matches. The Crusaders, who fell to Lourdes on Wednesday, dropped a four-set match at University of Northwestern Ohio, 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21) on Friday night.

It's the first time the program has done so since losses to Aquinas and Indiana Tech Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, 2009.

HOW IT HAPPENED: UNOH (13-2, 3-2 WHAC) 3, No. 23 Madonna (11-3, 3-2 WHAC) 1

• Set one

  • The Crusaders lead early, 8-3, and maintained a slim margin for most of the match. The Racers changed that when the scored four straight points down 17-15. The home team then scored six of the final 10 points for the 25-21 win.

• Set Two

  • The Blue and Gold dominated the second set as Erica LaBaere and Taylor Suurmeyer capped a 4-0 run to make it 4-1 early. The Racers cut the advantage to one, 6-5, but MU responded with another 4-0 run highlighted by a Jodie Kelly kill and a pair of block assists by Nyla Greer and Kelly. UNOH cut the lead to one twice more, 17-16 and 21-20, but the Crusaders responded each time and capped a 25-22 win with a Lauren Korth, Greer block assist.

• Set Three

  • It was a back and forth start to the third set as the teams traded side-outs before the home team used a pair of four-point rallies to take control of the game. The Crusaders kept it close, but never found an offensive rhythm in a 25-21 loss.

• Set Four

  • Kelly who had a carer-high 26 kills, tallied 11 in the final set and nearly single-handedly kept MU in the match. Back-to-back kills by the sophomore gave MU a 4-3 lead, but a 10-3 run by the Racers gave them a 13-7 advantage. A Taylor Suurmeyer kill gave MU the service and Luisa Wiewgorra netted a service ace to begin a 7-2 rally for the Blue and Gold to cut the deficit to one, 15-14. After UNOH added two more, Kelly delivered three consecutive kills to knot the game at 17. She scored two of the next three MU points to keep the Crusaders tied at 20, but the home team won five of the final six points for the 25-21 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Kelly not only set a career high with 26 kills and 53 attempts, she also set a personal record for attack percentage at .453 with just two errors. She also had nine digs, three blocks and four assists.

• Korth tallied a team-best 40 assists and had seven kills and six digs

• Suurmeyer finished with 13 kills while Greer lead the team with four blocks

• Alyssa Facione paced the back row with 15 digs

• UNOH outhit Madonna .280 (53-18-125) to .194 (53-26-139) and had more aces (6-5), blocks (11-6) and digs (49-42).

MILESTONES TO WATCH

• Head Coach Jerry Abraham (1,191) continues his pursuit of 1,200 career wins and needs nine more.

• Korth sits in seventh on the all-time assist list with 3,687; 277 shy of Jennie Wind (1998-01) for sixth.

JERRY'S WORLD

• "Similar to our loss on Wednesday. I thought we played very well at times, but had problems finishing sets. We gave them too many free balls that allowed them to attack with their big hitters. I feel we are playing ok, but need to sustain a more consistent attack. Jodie was incredible tonight and really gave us a chance." - Head Coach Jerry Abraham

UP NEXT

• Madonna wraps up a two-game road trip with a visit to Fort Wayne, Ind. to face Indiana Tech on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 3 p.m.

• Be sure to check mucrusaders.com for up-to-date streaming information.

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