MARQUETTE, Mich. – Ohio Dominican's volleyball team led late in the fourth set at Northern Michigan but couldn't push the Wildcats the distance, falling 3-1 (22-25, 17-25, 25-23, 20-25) in a GLIAC matchup Friday night.

With the setback, ODU fell to 8-8 (6-4 GLIAC), while Northern Michigan improved to 9-6 (9-1 GLIAC).

After falling in the first two sets, the Panthers came out strong in the third frame, jumping to a 12-6 lead after a pair of Ashlin Aiken (Onsted, Mich.) aces and a kill by senior Brianna Reder (Mainville, Ohio). The lead grew to as much as seven, 22-15, later in the set, but the Wildcats rallied with an 8-2 run to cut ODU's advantage to 24-23.

But senior Caitlin Kusan (Westerville, Ohio) closed the set with a kill, and the Panthers took leads of 14-11 and 18-16 in the fourth set.

NMU responded, though, using a 6-1 run to take a 22-19 lead. A kill by sophomore Jackie Oestreich (Brighton, Mich.) made it 22-20, but the Wildcats scored the next three points to claim the match.

Kusan notched 13 kills to lead ODU, and Oestreich hit .241 with 11 kills. Five Panthers had 11 or more digs, led by senior Lauren Rindler (Rossburg, Ohio) with 20. Aiken had a double-double with 14 digs and 13 assists, as did Kusan, who added 11 digs to her 13 kills. Junior Kelsey Fortney (Lorain, Ohio) led ODU with 22 assists.

The Panthers return to action at 3 p.m. Saturday at Michigan Tech.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu