ERIE, Pa. – A stunning five-set comeback lifted Ohio Dominican's volleyball to a Saturday sweep of its two matches at the Gannon-Mercyhurst Invitational as the Panthers defeated West Virginia State 3-0 in their opener before rallying for the 3-2 win over host Gannon.

After cruising against West Virginia State (25-18, 25-13, 25-15), the Panthers roared back from a two-set deficit against Gannon (11-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 15-12) for their first five-set win of the season.

Freshman Tory Thompson (Quincy, Ohio) had a monster afternoon, recording 38 kills and hitting .277 in the two matches. ODU's middle hitters continued their strong start to the campaign as freshman Lauren Kraemer (Kettering, Ohio) hit .600 with 13 kills and sophomore Caitlin Kusan (Westerville, Ohio) had 18 kills while swatting .519.

Overall, the Panthers (4-3) hit .274 in the two matches, and the defense improved to hold the two foes to a .202 attack percentage as six players had 10 or more digs.

After allowing Gannon (5-2) to hit .517 in the first set and trailing throughout the second set, ODU responded in a tight third set that featured seven ties and three lead changes. The Panthers went in front 19-16 on a Thompson solo block, but Gannon tallied three straight points to tie it. Still tied at 21, a Gannon service error and a block by Kusan and freshman Darby Slavin (Columbus, Ohio) put the Panthers in front 23-21, and another Gannon error gave the Panthers the final point they needed.

The Panthers led 11-10 in the fourth set but broke it open with five consecutive points, with sophomore Bailey Barker (Muncie, Ind.) contributing two aces during the run. Consecutive kills by her sister and freshman Kelsey Barker (Muncie, Ind.) put ODU in front 20-11 and the Panthers did not look back from there.

In the climactic fifth set, ODU battled back from a 7-4 deficit to take a 9-8 lead on Kelsey Barker's kill. The lead stretched to 13-9 on back-to-back kills by Thompson and a block by Slavin and Kusan, and Kraemer and Thompson's block sealed the rally for ODU.

Thompson had 20 of her kills, along with 16 digs, in this match. Slavin finished with 38 assists and 10 digs, and she – along with Kraemer and Kusan – had four block assists.

ODU's defense buckled down in the fourth and fifth frames, holding Gannon to an .077 and .040 attack percentage, respectively.

The opener was a bit less stressful than the nightcap, though ODU had to fight off a strong charge from West Virginia State (0-8) in the first set. There were nine ties and three lead changes, but the Panthers pulled away from a 14-14 deadlock with four straight points. A block by Kusan and sophomore Brianna Reder (Maineville, Ohio) gave the Panthers the 18-14 lead, and ODU did not look back from there.

The Panthers started the second set on an 8-1 run and had an 8-3 spurt to begin the third frame for the three-set sweep.

Thompson had 18 kills and hit .351, Kusan had 10 kills in 16 swings without an error, and Kelsey Barker had 10 kills while hitting .500. Overall, ODU hit .380 in the match, a season-high.

Ohio Dominican begins GLIAC play at 7 p.m. Friday against new conference foe Malone in Alumni Hall.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu