BEXLEY, Ohio—After dropping the first two sets, the Mount Union volleyball team rallied for a road win over Capital. With the victory, the Purple Raiders (20-6, 6-1) have secured a first round home match in the upcoming Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.

The Crusaders tried to use their experience to take advantage of the Raiders' youth early in the match, but several freshmen came up big in the 19-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-16, 15-11 decision for Mount Union.

Three freshmen, Nicole Snyder (Mentor/Lake Catholic), Maya Brown (Tiffin/Tiffin Columbian) and Melanie Patterson (Mentor/Lake Catholic) led the Purple Raider offense. Snyder had 20 kills while Brown had 13 kills and Patterson added 11 kills. Freshmen Lauren Mastroine (Orrville/Orrville) and Allison Insana (Cleveland/Villa Angela-Saint Joseph) came through with 28 and 19 digs, respectively, while Brown added six total blocks to lead the defense.

Senior Julie Radigan (Olmsted Falls/Olmsted Falls) led Mount Union with a season-high 57 assists while adding a team-best four service aces. The Raiders also got contributions from upperclassmen Taylor Webb (Geneva/Geneva) with 10 kills and Kristen Gromes (Navarre/Fairless) with 18 digs.

For Capital (18-11, 2-5), Tara Luth and Emily Heitmeyer had 11 kills each, Alyssa Angle had 40 assists and Luth had 22 digs.

Mount Union will return to the court on Tuesday night when they travel to Muskingum.

  Mount Union def. Capital University 19-25,23-25,25-18,25-16,15-11

  Mount Union (20-6, 6-1 OAC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Nicole Snyder
  20-2-4; Maya Brown 13-0-5; Melanie Patterson 11-0-1; Taylor Webb
  10-0-3; Deanna Glass 6-0-6; Julie Radigan 5-4-2; Rachel Adolph 1-0-0;
  Kristen Gromes 0-1-0; Totals 66-7-11.0. (Assists) - Julie Radigan 57.
  (Dig leaders) - Lauren Mastroine 28; Allison Insana 19; Kristen Gromes
  18; Riley Galant 10; Julie Radigan 9

  Capital University (18-11, 2-5 OAC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Tara Luth
  11-2-1; Emily Heitmeyer 11-1-2; Melissa Verhoff 9-0-2; Sanaya
  El-Naggar 9-2-1; Leanne Schaefer 7-0-5; Alyssa Angle 2-0-0; Elissa
  Foster 0-1-0; Totals 49-6-6.0. (Assists) - Alyssa Angle 40. (Dig
  leaders) - Tara Luth 25; Elissa Foster 17; Alyssa Angle 12; Sanaya
  El-Naggar 8; Lauren Gauvreau 8

  Site: Columbus, Ohio (Capital Center)
  Date: 10/22/11       Attend: 275   Time: 1:48