Kankakee Times

The Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) volleyball team is on a 10-game winning streak.

After the starting the season struggling against nationally ranked teams, the Tigers have turned things around, and head coach Brenda Williams told the Kankakee Times she hopes playing ranked teams will pay off in the long run.

“We always start off against the best teams in the country," she said. "In the first four weeks of the year, we traveled and played some top-ranked teams. It should show in conference play that you’ve played the best teams in the country.”

ONU started the season with a loss to Warner University in straight sets, but then bounced back to beat No. 12-ranked Missouri Baptist University in five sets. The Tigers then beat Saint Thomas University and Friends University before falling in straights sets to No. 8 Columbia College. 

The Tigers then lost a rematch against Missouri Baptist and fell to No. 3 Park University in four sets.

The squad started its lengthy winning streak by beating Calumet College of St. Joseph in a three-set match. ONU followed that with wins over conference rivals Governors State University, Robert Morris University-Illinois and Indiana University-South Bend. 

Williams said the team has performed well and a number of players have turned in solid performances.

“Our players have gelled really well together,” she said. “Our older players have been good leaders to the younger kids, and everyone is just really tight-knit. It’s been a team effort and really hasn’t been one person starring.”

Lizzie Jackson, who recently took home the title of Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference attacker of the week, racked up 46 kills in four matches during the week of Oct. 2 and led the Tigers to four straight wins.

“Lizzie Jackson came back from shoulder surgery in the offseason, and she is just getting back into her true form,” Williams said. “She has been performing great, and we are really glad to have her back.”

As of publication, ONU has an overall record of 16-8 and is 7-2 in conference play. The Tigers recently started the second half of conference play, and Williams said the team has been working on a specific element of play.

“We used to be one of the best blocking teams in the conference, but now we’re one of the best teams in digs because our blocking has gone down," she said. "We started putting a lot more emphasis on our blocking, and it’s already started to go up.”

Williams said she wants the Tigers to become more consistent to close out the season in early November. The CCAC tournament will get underway on Nov. 7.