COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Dominican's volleyball team hung tough with No. 22 Ferris State but ultimately fell 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 20-25, 19-25) to the Bulldogs in GLIAC play Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall.

It was the second straight year the Panthers fought hard against a nationally ranked Ferris State team at home, as ODU fell in four sets to the then-No. 11 Bulldogs in 2011.

Sophomore Caitlin Kusan (Westerville, Ohio) had a team-best 13 kills with just one error in 19 swings, registering a .632 attack percentage. It was a season-high in kills for the middle hitter and her third-best hitting percentage in a match in her career.

Freshman Tory Thompson (Quincy, Ohio) notched a double-double with her 10 kills and 12 digs, as did classmate Darby Slavin (Columbus, Ohio), who finished with a match-high 39 assists and 17 digs. Sophomore Brianna Reder (Maineville, Ohio) tallied a season-high 10 kills, and sophomore Bailey Barker (Muncie, Ind.) had a career-high 23 digs.

With the setback, ODU dropped to 6-8 (2-5 GLIAC), while the Bulldogs moved to 12-3 (6-1 GLIAC).

The Panthers rallied from a 15-6 deficit in the opening set with an 11-4 run to cut it to 19-17. Down 19-12, Kusan, Slavin and freshman Kelsey Barker (Muncie, Ind.) had consecutive kills, Kusan and Slavin teamed up for a block, and freshman Kelsey Fortney (Lorain, Ohio) had an ace to help ODU score five straight and narrow the Bulldog lead to two.

ODU stayed within two at 22-20 on Kusan's ace, but Ferris closed the set out with three straight points.

The Panthers built off of their momentum in the second set, though, racing to a 12-4 lead that eventually extended to 19-10. Ferris didn't go silently, though, getting to within four points at 21-17, but Reder and Kraemer paired up for a big block on the right side, and Reder sealed the win with a termination from a feed from Slavin.

The Panthers hit .455 in the set, their second-best total in a set this season, and registered 16 kills.

ODU led early again in the third frame, going in front 12-9 on a kill by Kramer in the middle. Ferris answered with its most dominant stretch of the match, though, scoring eight straight to grab a 17-12 lead. The Panthers fought back to cut it to 20-19 on another Kusan ace, but ODU managed just one more kill by Kraemer in the set as Ferris went up two sets to one.

The final frame featured nine ties and three lead changes before the Bulldogs came out on top. Reder knotted the match at 11 with a spike, but Ferris answered with a mini 3-0 run to grab a lead it would not relinquish. The Panthers drew to within 16-15 on a kill and an ace by Kusan, but would never draw even for the remainder of the set.

ODU finished with more kills (51-50) then Ferris and kept the Bulldogs 45 points below their season hitting percentage, holding FSU to a .224 clip on Saturday.

Ohio Dominican returns to the court for a non-conference tilt with Cedarville at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu