PBears Win the 35th ONU Invitational

The ONU Volleyball started off the season with a solid weekend and 4 wins at the ONU Invitational.  This was the 35th Annual Invitational and this year the Polar Bears hosted, DePauw, Theil, Heidelberg, and St. Mary's.  With a young squad the PBears were excited to get started and see how we would compete and battle against other people besides our own teammates in practice.  Throughout the weekend there were ups and downs but overall the girls continued to battled and even won two of the matches in five sets! Exciting... and nerve racking! :)

Wanted to give a shout out to Ellie Gillespie, sophomore outside hitter for earning Tournament MVP and freshman middle hitter, Kelli Weininger for being named to the All-Tournament Team. Here is the write-up from onusports.com...  

Volleyball Wins 35th ONU Invitational 

2014 Recruiting Class has a Commit!

The Ohio Northern Volleyball Family is so excited to announce that as of last Friday after the Alumni match we have our first 2014 volleyball commitment.  Yeah!!! We have been working very hard as a coaching staff to recruit motivated individuals and talented volleyball women, and have them visit our campus and spend time with the volleyball program.  Hannah Davis is official the first member of our 2014 class. She is planning on entering into our College of Business and is a 6'2 Middle Hitter that has been playing for the premier club Sky High, out of Chicago.

We so look forward to seeing Hannah play this winter/spring during her club season and also having her join us next Fall. Go PBears and Welcome Hannah and her family!!!

Preseason is Coming to an End

What a week we have had at Ohio Northern.  The girls have worked hard and the weather has been on our side for this first week of practice.  The girls do not realize how fortune we are to have had a fairly cool week... which kept the gym cool as well :)  The six freshmen have been a great addition to our volleyball family both on the court and with their personalities off of the court.  All girls are meshing and have been a joy to be around this preseason!  We are excited to see what this 2013 season has in store for the PBears.  Here is a short preview done by our Sports Information.

OAC Coaches Poll

The 2013 OAC Coaches Poll was released on Thursday. Here is the press release and ranking of the teams. Let's Go PBears!!

Pre-Season AVCA Poll

We have the first AVCA Poll of the season.... ONU is mentioned and received votes... but where do we go from here girls?? This is just the beginning. The canvas is blank. Go PBears!

Team Summer Get-Together

Every summer the girls will organize and have a team get-together at someone's house.  This year the girls traveled to Cincinnati to stay at Ellie's house.  Along with a giant sleepover they also went canoeing... how fun!  I was able to snag a couple pictures from Facebook of the girls.  They all survived!! :)

2013 Polar Bear Class

The time has come for the girls to get back on campus and all of us to get back in the gym! Let's just hope the weather stays this way because it will make pre-season real 'cool'! We are excited to have six new Polar Bears joining our family.  Here 's a little about each one of them...


Ashley Borchers is a 5'11 setter joining the Polar Bears from Russia High School. She earned 3rd team All-Ohio her senior season and is looking to challenge for the setting position.  Currently Ashley is majoring in Early Childhood Education at ONU.

Mackenzie Griffith joins the Polar Bears after a very successful career at Riverview High School.  Griffith is a 5'3 libero who has a 110% effort all the time and was conference player of the year her senior year. She plans on majoring in nursing.

Claire Heitkamp is a 5'11 outside hitter who joins the ONU squad from Marion Local High School. She was a member of the DIV State Championship team her senior year and had 17 kills in the championship match. Claire will be entering the Civil Engineering program here at Ohio Northern. 

Kristin Sessler is a 5'7 outside hitter from Saint Joseph Central Catholic High School who is planning on majoring in Early Childhood Education.  Kristin was a stand out at her high school and was named first team All-Conference three years. She played for Black Swamp Club. She also played basketball and softball in high school.

Taylor Vuich is a Michigan native who attended St. Mary Catholic Central High School and won a state championship her senior year.  She is a 5'11 right side hitter who plans on majoring in Early Childhood Education. Taylor was a first team All-State selection her senior year.

Kelli Weininger comes to ONU from Norwalk High School, where she was a member of a DII State Runner-up team her senior season. She is a 6'1 middle hitter who played club for Black Swamp.  Kelli plans on majoring in Early Childhood Education. 

Locker room Picture

Wanted to share with all of the Polar Bear family that a few of our athletes came up with a simple picture idea and we were able to get ahold of one of our photographers on campus to make it happen.  It was just something extra that was kind of thrown together but the image came out awesome and the photographer was actually honored for the image he snapped.  How cool!

Check out the article below!

Locker Room Photo Article

Title IX Celebration

Last Thursday the women of Ohio Northern (and a few brave men) celebrated 40 years of Title IX. We all gathered in the gym at 11 a.m., proudly sporting black t-shirts that read Ohio Northern Women's Athletics (thank you Coach Witte). At one time or another we all have heard what Title IX was about, but I can speak for many when I say until that presentation I had no idea how important is was to me. Title IX states,

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

It's hard to imagine a time when men and women didn't have the same athletic privileges at the college level. For so many female athletes the dream of playing a collegiate sport was crushed at a very young age. Women were supposed to go to college to become a teacher, nurse or homemaker, not an All-American outside hitter aspiring to be doctor. Today, because of Title IX, those dreams are possible. 'Title IX: Sporting Chance' highlighted some of the great pioneers who helped fight for female athletes' rights, as did Coach Witte about Ohio Northern's own. We all stand on the shoulders of Sheila Wallace-Kovalchik, Helen Ludwig and Gayle Lauth. Without them most of us wouldn't be here. Without their sacrifices, hard work and tenacity we wouldn't be able to discover what being a team is all about. We owe so much to these women.  

Coach Witte always reminds us of how we are a part of something greater than ourselves. Being a part of Ohio Northern athletics is an honor, a privilege and should never be taken for granted. Thursday's celebration was truly a humbling experience and a perfect reminder of why being a part of an ONU athletic team is something special, something to be cherished and something greater than ourselves.

Words from Jeni Kmic, junior libero

Banner hanging during the Title IX presentation. This banner will be passed among all of the female athletic teams to be hung at their respective sporting events.

Dr. Dan speaking at the presentation, along with Coach Witte in the background. Both shared few inspirational and moving words with the audience.

Few of the volleyball girls at the presentation.  Photo moment! 

Life = Risk

Life = Risk.  I absolutely believe this is true.  We must be willing to take a risk in order to succeed and live!  In everyday life we choose to take  a risk or risks on a daily bases.  Do we raise our hand in class? (A RISK)  Do we talk to a stranger or unknown student? (A RISK)  Do we cross the street at the cross walk or in the middle of the street? (A RISK)  Do we present an idea that is off the wall to a group of peers to improve an organization?  (A RISK)   Do we step outside of ourselves in order to grow as students?  athletes?  friends?  people?  (ALL RISKS)  At times taking a risk is going to hurt because we are going to fail.  But there will be moments in life when we have failed over and over but we continue to take risks and grow and it all pays off.

Check out this video... all about failures (yet successes!)