HOUGHTON, Mich. – Ohio Dominican's volleyball team took the first set and out-hit host Michigan Tech for the match, but the Panthers dropped a 3-1 decision (25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 18-25) to the Huskies Saturday in GLIAC action.

With the setback, ODU dropped to 10-12 on the season (4-7 GLIAC), while the Huskies moved to 9-15 (4-7 GLIAC).

The Panthers tallied 49 kills to MTU's 47 and finished with a .171 attack percentage to the Huskies' .164, but 12 aces by Michigan Tech helped the home team to victory.

ODU led wire-to-wire in the opening set, with kills by freshmen Lauren Kraemer (Kettering, Ohio) and Tory Thompson (Quincy, Ohio) and an ace by sophomore Caitlin Kusan (Westerville, Ohio) helping the Panthers on a 5-0 run that pushed their lead to 17-9. The Panthers hit just .119 in the set but MTU finished with a .133 attack percentage themselves.

The Panthers outhit Michigan Tech in each of the next two sets, hitting at a .222 clip in the second and .178 in the third, but the Huskies used big runs in the middle of each of game to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the fourth set, Michigan Tech started the frame on a 14-5 burst, and the Panthers could not rally.

Kusan led ODU with 12 kills while hitting .357, while Kraemer finished with a .526 attack percentage and tallied 11 kills. Thompson notched 10 kills, while freshman Darby Slavin (Columbus, Ohio) registered 44 assists. Sophomore Bailey Barker (Muncie, Ind.) led ODU with 17 digs.

Ohio Dominican returns home to host Wayne State at 7 p.m. Friday in Alumni Hall.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu