Trailblazer News

Lady Trailblazers Earn First Win

The OCU women's volleyball team defeated Appalachian Bible College on Monday to earn its first win of the season. It was also their first regional win as well. The Lady Trailblazers dominated the match, winning in three games. Marlaina Shotsky tallied 21 kills, while Whitney Pontius had 35 assists and Leslie Turner had 15 digs.

Head Coach Wes Brothers said, "Despite our poor serving, we were able to come out on top. We focused on fundamentals during this match, and the girls passed the ball well and attacked aggressively. Appalachian showed some serious heart and never gave up, especially in the third game. It was a good feeling to chalk up the first win of the season and to be 1-0 in regional play."

In the other matches of the day, OCU lost a close match to OSU-Newark and then to Rochester College. Brittany Martin led the Lady Blazers with 7 kills against OSU-Newark, while Leslie Turner had 13 digs. Against Rochester, Katie Baird earned 7 kills and 15 digs, while Marlaina Shotsky added 3 aces and 22 digs.

Coach Brothers said, "Our greatest success came in the Rochester match, even though we were down in the score most of the match, because we kept a positive attitude and fought past fatigue. These are parts of the mental foundation of being a team that desires to reach places we did not last year."

The Lady Trailblazers travel the Knoxville, Tennessee on Friday to face regional opponents Johnson Bible College and Crown.