COLUMBUS, Ohio – After a tough first set loss, Ohio Dominican's volleyball team roared back with a strong finish in the final three frames, defeating Saginaw Valley 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-16, 25-20) in GLIAC play Friday night in Alumni Hall.

The victory – ODU's first over Saginaw since the Panthers joined the league in 2010 – bumped the Panthers' record to 7-9 (3-5 GLIAC), while the Cardinals fell to 7-10 (3-5 GLIAC).

ODU kept Saginaw's hitters in check all night, finishing with nine total team blocks and limiting the Cardinals to an .055 attack percentage, including just an .017 hitting percentage in sets 2-4.

The Panthers, meanwhile, countered with an .189 attack percentage on the night, with four players registering eight or more kills to lead the balanced attack.

ODU led 21-17 in the opening set, but Saginaw came back to it at 21 and grabbed a 24-22 lead. Kills by freshman Kelsey Barker (Muncie, Ind.) and classmate Darby Slavin (Columbus, Ohio) knotted it at 24, but the Cardinals tallied the final two points to complete their comeback.

The Panthers came out firing on all cylinders to start the second frame, though, beginning the set on a 9-3 burst and forcing an SVSU timeout. The lead grew to 18-8 on Slavin's ace, but SVSU came storming back itself, using a 14-6 run to cut the Panther advantage to 24-22. Slavin, though, closed the set with a kill off a dig set from senior Kristy Birkemeier (Columbus Grove, Ohio) to even the match at one set apiece.

ODU's offense was in peak form in the third set as the Panthers finished with 15 kills and hit .375 in the frame. Freshman Tory Thompson (Quincy, Ohio) had six kills in 10 swings without an error in the set as ODU raced to an 11-4 lead. The Panthers did not relent in the third as SVSU never got within five points for the remainder of the set.

Saginaw came out strong in the fourth set, though. The Cardinals jumped to an 8-2 lead in the early going, but ODU quickly responded and kept it within one or two points for the middle part of the set. The Panthers finally drew even at 15, and a tremendous defensive effort on the next point led to a kill by Slavin and ODU's first lead of the set.

Saginaw bounced back and regained a 19-17 advantage, but it was all Panthers from there on out. Kills by Thompson and Lauren Kraemer knotted it at 19, a Cardinal error gave ODU the lead, and a kill by Slavin and two more attack errors capped a 6-0 run that put the Panthers in front 23-19. A Cardinal kill made it 23-20, but SVSU had two more hitting errors to seal the victory for ODU.

Thompson recorded a match-high 15 kills to go along with 16 digs, and Slavin had a season-best eight kills in 14 swings without an error. She also registered 31 assists.

Sophomore Caitlin Kusan (Westerville, Ohio) tallied eight kills, as did sophomore Brianna Reder (Maineville, Ohio). Sophomore Bailey Barker (Muncie, Ind.) recorded 13 digs and Birkemeier finished with 11.

Ohio Dominican will play host to Lake Superior State at 5 p.m. Saturday in GLIAC play from Alumni Hall.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu