BEREA, OHIO -- The #3 seeded Ohio Northern University Polar Bears defeated the #1 seeded Baldwin-Wallace College Yellow Jackets, 3-1, in the finals of the 2003 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea, Ohio. The Polar Bears won by the scores of 24-30, 30-18, 30-26, and 30-24.
The Polar Bears, now 27-7 overall, receive the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament against an undetermined opponent starting next weekend. B-W is now 18-16 overall and must wait and see if they receive an at-large bid to the tournament.
The Yellow Jackets were led up front by senior Emily Bowen (Tiffin/Columbian) with 23 kills, 15 digs and seven blocks (one solo and six assisted). In addition, senior Cassie Palmer (Greenwich/South Central) had 21 kills, eight blocks and three digs. The Yellow Jacket offense was set up by senior Angie Elser (Wooster/Northwestern) with 35 set assists. The defense was led by freshman Kim Stoll (Norwalk/St. Paul) with 30 digs. Elser had 28 digs and senior Kerry Helm (Luckey/Eastwood) added 15 digs.
Palmer, and Bowen were named to the first team All-OAC, and injured junior middle hitter Laura Leach (Norwalk) was named honorable mention All-OAC. Palmer and Bowen are repeat picks to the first-team. It is the third straight first-team honor for Palmer as well. To view the entire 2003 All-OAC volleyball team, please click here.
FOR MORE BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION, please call B-W SID Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX machine at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu.
To contact Head Coach Vicki Brault, please call her at 440-826-3258, FAX her at 440-826-2192 or e-mail her at vbrault@bw.edu.
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