By: Ryan Gasser, sports information director

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – Capital University Volleyball saw its postseason hopes take a hit following a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-17) defeat at the DeCarlo Center on Saturday afternoon. The Crusaders are now 9-18 and 1-6 in conference play.

John Carroll (6-22, 2-5 OAC) hit .289 over the course of the match and also held the advantage at the net, defensively. Sarah Calabrese paced the Blue Streaks with 12 kills, six digs, and three total blocks.

Conversely, no Crusader player eclipsed double-digit kill counts and only one block was tallied against JCU.

While John Carroll did not hit above .150 in the first set, Capital committed 11 errors and hit in the negative. The Blue Streaks used a big run in the middle of the first to break away for a 25-17 win and early 1-0 lead.

Capital's attack dramatically improved in the second set, but so did John Carroll's. The Crusaders improved their hit percentage to above 25 percent, but JCU hit near the 45 percent range and committed just one error on 27 attack attempts. John Carroll scored six straight points, which included a trio of service aces by the hosts. The six-point buffer that was built was enough to pull out a 25-21 victory in the second.

Capital's effort did not wane and the Crusaders kept close to the Blue Streaks into the latter third of the final set, but the JCU offense again helped build a lead that was not relinquished. Two different 5-2 runs helped the Blue Streaks break away for another 25-17 win, sealing their victory.

Bryanna Masters and Kirsten Jutte shared the team lead for kills (8) while freshman setter Morgan Tripp tallied her sixth double-double of the season behind 19 assists and 10 digs.

Capital is now in ninth place in the Ohio Athletic Conference standings with two games to play. They now trail John Carroll by one match for the final spot in the OAC Volleyball Tournament. Capital would need to win both of its remaining matches in combination with John Carroll losing its remaining two in order to advance to the postseason.

Capital is set to play Heidelberg University (14-11, 3-3) next on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at home, followed by Baldwin Wallace University (25-4, 3-4 OAC) on Oct. 28.