WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Capital University volleyball team picked up its first Ohio Athletic Conference victory of the season on Tuesday night, defeating Wilmington, 3-0, on the road.

Capital (9-16 overall, 1-3 OAC) opened up the match with a convincing 25-14 win in set one, recording 12 kills and only five errors on 34 total attacks.

The Quakers then battled the Crusaders in the second set, taking the lead at 5-3 at one point, before Capital put together a seven to five scoring run to open up a three point advantage. Wilmington again fought its way back, regaining the lead at 19-18.

However, the Crusaders managed to manufacture a 7-3 scoring run, eventually gaining a two set advantage over the Quakers with a 25-22 victory in set two.

The third and final set was again a dominating performance by the Crusaders, as they jumped out to an early 9-4 lead, only to extend their lead to as many as 10 at 24-14, taking set three by a final score of 25-16.

Leading the way for Capital was sophomore Mona Ratliff (South Charleston, Ohio), who led the match with 11 kills, hitting at a clip of .296, committing just three errors on 27 total attacks. She also recorded one solo block and a block assist in the win.

Classmates Hanna Ewart (Wichita, Kan.) and Courtney McCracken (Newark, Ohio) followed with nine kills apiece. McCracken also tallied 14 digs for the match.

Fellow sophomores Kristin Bender (Fremont, Ohio) and Kirsten Nickles (Loudonville, Ohio) combined for nine kills on the night.

Senior Kelly Leonard (Cincinnati, Ohio) registered a match-high 16 digs and four service aces, while junior Katie Weilbacher (Grove City, Ohio) led the match with 37 assists.

With the win, Capital looks to move into double-digits in victories, as the Crusaders travel to Ohio Northern on Saturday for their fifth OAC match of the year. First service is set for 1 p.m. in Ada, Ohio.