COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a match featuring 33 ties and 15 lead changes, Ohio Dominican's volleyball team persevered to take a 3-1 (25-17, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23) victory over visiting Tiffin Tuesday night in a GLIAC match at Alumni Hall.

Facing the potential of going to a fifth set, the Panthers rallied from a 23-22 deficit in the fourth frame. Sophomore Jackie Oestreich (Brighton, Mich.) and junior Tory Thompson (Quincy, Ohio) teamed up on a block to tie it at 23-23, and after a Tiffin hitting error, Oestreich closed the match with a kill, her season-high 14th of the night.

The Panthers improved to 4-0 at home and are 6-5 overall (4-1 GLIAC). Tiffin fell to 4-4 (2-3 GLIAC).

Senior Caitlin Kusan (Westerville, Ohio) had a season-best 17 kills, hitting .400 on the night. Senior Lauren Kraemer (Kettering, Ohio) also had a season-best 14 kills while hitting .346, and Oestreich hit .438 as she did not have an error in 32 attacks.

Junior setter Kelsey Fortney (Lorain, Ohio) had a career-high 29 assists, freshman Ashlin Aiken (Onsted, Mich.) added a personal-best 22, and senior Lauren Rindler (Rossburg, Ohio) chipped in with 25 digs as ODU held Tiffin to a .141 attack percentage. The Dragons entered the match hitting .216 on the season, second-best in the GLIAC.

ODU had one of its strongest offensive showings of the year, hitting .231 and tallying 57 total kills.

A mini 3-0 run in the first set gave the Panthers some breathing room as they took a 14-11 lead, and after the Dragons pulled within 18-16, ODU took control with a 5-0 burst behind Kusan's serving and a pair of Kraemer terminations. The Panthers hit .429 in the set with 15 kills.

Tiffin grabbed momentum early in the second, opening a 6-1 lead, but the Panthers clawed back into the set, drawing even at 12-12. The lead swung back and forth for the next segment of the set, and Tiffin went in front 22-20 late.

Kusan knotted it at 22 with consecutive kills, and after an attack error from the Dragons, Kusan and Kraemer finished off the set with two more kills to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set was just as close as the second, with neither team gaining much momentum throughout, but Tiffin pulled away late, scoring consecutive points after holding a 21-20 lead to earn some breathing room. The Panthers made it 23-21, but a pair of Dragon kills sent the match to a fourth frame.

Ohio Dominican remains at home to take on nationally ranked Grand Valley at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu