By: Grant Cobb, Sports Information Assistant
Essentials
Score: Berea 3, Oakland City University 1 (26-24, 25-18, 23-25, 25-20)
Records: Berea (4-8), Oakland City University (1-6)
OAKLAND CITY, IN- The Mountaineers traveled up to Indiana to face the Oakland City University Mighty Oaks in a nonconference affair. Berea was victorious in 4 sets and displayed a tough, hardnose, game-plan that led to a much needed victory.
In the first set, Oakland City U. and Berea balanced efforts between serves, both teams battling hard. The match was close all the way through. The final stretch brought out the Mountaineers true colors as they forced a sudden-death overtime. Berea put up 3 consecutive scores to defeat the Mighty Oaks in the pivotal first set.
During the second set, the Oaks capitalized early, but the Mountaineers were able to manage the attack, and got back on pace. The two teams went back and forth deep into the set. Fighting for a victory, Berea honed in on the task and pulled away with a 25-18 victory and advanced to 2-0 in the set series.
The third set started in Berea's favor, but Oakland City responded with a push of their own. Against the odds, the Mighty Oaks managed to win set 3 by a narrow margin (25-23). The 4th set proved to be the final when Berea responded with a victorious effort. The Mountaineers were hungry for a victory and found a win with an expletory kill by Vanessa Ramic to finish off the Oaks (25-20).
The Mountaineers found a much needed victory in Oakland City, and will look to start a streak in the coming contests. They will compete again Saturday as they will once again be on the road at Lookout Mt. The Mountaineers will be part of a conference tri-match featuring opponents Covenant College and Agnes Scott. Berea will play at 10:00am and then again later that afternoon at 2:00pm.