AURORA, Ill. – Ohio Dominican's volleyball team rallied in the third set to complete a 3-0 sweep of Saint Joseph's (25-21, 25-19, 27-25) in its opening match of the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover Tournament Friday afternoon.

With its third-straight win, ODU evened its record at 9-9 on the season, while the Pumas fell to 4-16.

Senior Kristy Birkemeier (Columbus Grove, Ohio) authored one of the strongest performances of her career, tallying a match-high 13 kills while hitting .440. It was the highest percentage she's hit in a match with more than 10 kills in her career.

Sophomore Caitlin Kusan (Westerville, Ohio) finished with 12 kills while swatting .400, her second straight match of hitting over .400 with 12 or more kills. Freshman Lauren Kraemer (Kettering, Ohio) had nine kills and also hit .400, and freshman Tory Thompson (Quincy, Ohio) had all eight of her kills in the second and third sets to pace ODU's offense.

Freshman Darby Slavin (Columbus, Ohio) finished with 41 assists, her best figure in a three-set match this season and the second-best total by a GLIAC player in a three-set match this season.

Overall, the Panthers finished with 50 kills, which is tied for the third-most in the GLIAC in a three-set match, and ODU hit .333 for the match.

ODU trailed 15-11 in the first set before recovering to tie it at 17-17, and Kraemer's kill gave the Panthers a lead they would not relinquish. Another kill by Kraemer stretched the lead to 23-19, and she would close it herself with a final termination as the Panthers tallied 15 kills with just three errors in the frame, hitting .353. Kraemer had five kills in six swings and Kusan was a perfect 4-for-4 in her attacks.

Ohio Dominican grabbed a pair of four-point leads early in the second set, but the Pumas recovered to trim the Panther lead to 13-12 midway through. Birkemeier took over at that point, registering four kills to key a 5-1 run that bumped the Panther lead to 18-13. SJC drew as close as 19-17, but Kusan tallied a kill and an ace that earned ODU breathing room, and Thompson's kill sealed the set for ODU.

ODU had to play from behind throughout the third set, as the Panthers only managed ties at 2-2 and 4-4 before Saint Joseph's went in front by as many as four points on several occasions. Trailing 21-17, a Thompson kill and a pair of Puma errors brought the Panthers to within one at 21-20, and ODU would tie it at 22-22 on an SJC hitting error and a kill by sophomore Brianna Reder (Maineville, Ohio).

The Pumas won the next two points to put ODU on the ropes, though, but Birkemeier answered with back-to-back kills to draw the Panthers even at 24. Saint Joseph's came back with another kill to have set point again at 25-24, but Birkemeier, Thompson and Kusan each notched kills to close the victory for ODU, which finished with 19 kills in the third set.

Reder was solid for the Panthers as she finished with six kills and hit .308, while Thompson had a match-high 12 digs and freshman Kelsey Fortney (Lorain, Ohio) finished with 10.

This is the longest winning streak for the Panthers since claiming four straight victories to start the 2011 season.

Ohio Dominican closes out play at the tournament with matches Saturday against Quincy and Drury at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu