PAINESVILLE, Ohio – Ohio Dominican's volleyball team picked up its first GLIAC victory with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-14) victory at Lake Erie Saturday afternoon. The Panthers then fell in the nightcap of their tri-match, losing to non-conference foe Wheeling Jesuit (W. Va.) by a 3-0 count (25-15, 25-20, 25-22).

The Panthers had their best offensive performance of the year against the Storm, hitting .402 as a team. Rachel Billing (Anna, Ohio) hit .571 with 12 kills, Ashley Sprau (Delaware, Ohio) hit .357 with 12 kills, and Summer Hale (Galena, Ohio) had eight kills in just 12 attempts without an error to pace the Panthers. Shannon Nadler (Leipsic, Ohio) also finished with a season-high seven kills.

Hale tallied 24 assists and 10 digs to fall just shy of her third triple-double of the season, Elyse Mongillo (Columbiana, Ohio) had 14 assists and Stacy Rogg (Cincinnati, Ohio) had 13 digs to round out the ODU statistical leaders.

ODU led wire-to-wire in the first two sets. The Panthers led 15-11 in the first set and used a 7-1 run to break the game open, winning by 10 points. Ohio Dominican led 9-6 in the second set, and that would be as close as the rest of the set would be. The third set posed little problems as well, with ODU using a 6-1 spurt to turn a three point lead into eight at 16-8.

The Panthers ran into a tough foe in Wheeling Jesuit, who is now 12-2 on the season. Sprau finished in double figures with 10 kills and Billing hit .276 with nine kills, but the Cardinals recorded 53 kills to ODU's 33 in the three-set affair.

In the second set, ODU led 14-11, but the Cardinals answered with six straight points, and the Panthers could draw no closer than two points the remainder of the set. Needing a victory in the third set, Ohio Dominican jumped to a 15-9 lead. Wheeling Jesuit rallied, however, drawing even at 17. Still tied at 20, the Cardinals scored three straight points and closed out ODU's comeback bid.

With the split, Ohio Dominican is now 3-7 overall (1-6 GLIAC). The Panthers return home for a non-conference matchup against Alderson-Broaddus at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in Alumni Hall.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu