ADA — The Ohio Northern volleyball team defeated Hanover (Ind.) in the opening match of the OAC/HCAC Challenge on Friday afternoon at the ONU Sports Center.

The Polar Bears (6-7) swept the Panthers (8-5) 27-25, 25-23, 25-22.

Sophomore Cenzie Yoder led the way for ONU with 12 kills and hit at a .357 clip. Junior Ellen Grenert contributed 10 kills 17 digs.

Freshman Hannah English dished out 39 assists and added 11 digs.

Sophomore Jeni Kmic recorded a match-high 25 digs. Freshman Rachel Olach notched five blocks.

Abby Merritt led the way for Hanover with 12 kills. Ashleigh Burakiewicz contributed 22 digs.

Trailing 11-8 in the first set, the Polar Bears used kills from Yoder and sophomores Kristen Davidson and Nicole Potkotter to earn a 19-17 advantage.

Merritt recorded three kills and an ace down the stretch to even the score at 24-24.

Grenert notched two kills to give the Polar Bears a 26-25 edge, and a Hanover hitting error gave the set to ONU.

In the second set, kills from Yoder, Grenert and Davidson gave the Polar Bears a 15-10 edge.

Hanover put together a three-point service run to bring the score to 24-23, but a Yoder kill gave the second set to the Polar Bears.

In Set 3, ONU got off to a quick 10-5 start, highlighted by two Davidson aces and Yoder and Potkotter kills.

Trailing 22-13, the Panthers fought back to within two, before English found Potkotter for the match-winning kill.

The Polar Bears return to action Friday night when they square off against Transylvania (Ky.) at 7 pm at the ONU Sports Center.