ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – A five set win over Maryville earned Ohio Dominican volleyball coach Sandy Rowley her 500th career victory at ODU.

Rowley, now in her 27th season, has the most wins in program history. Also the assistant athletic director and senior woman's administrator, Rowley has taken the Panthers to 19 conference tournament appearances during her tenure.

The Panthers rallied to earn that victory after falling behind two sets to one. ODU dropped the opening set 25-21 before taking the second set 25-15. Maryville bounced back to take the third frame 18-25, but the Panthers answered with a commanding 25-17 win in the fourth before rolling to a 15-5 win in the fifth.

ODU (5-4) hit a season-high .311 while limiting the Saints to a .168 clip. Freshman Kelly Nadler (Leipsic, Ohio) had 12 kills while hitting .478 and junior Jackie Oestreich (Brighton, Mich.) added 13 kills with a .367 attack percentage. Senior Tory Thompson (Quincy, Ohio) hit .281 while recording 12 kills and sophomore Ciara Ralston (Findlay, Ohio) hit .276 with nine kills.

Senior Kelsey Fortney (Lorain, Ohio) led ODU with 26 assists and sophomore Ashlin Aiken (Onsted, Mich.) added 20 assists. Freshman Anna Ficker (Cincinnati, Ohio) led ODU with 21 digs, and Thompson and Aiken each registered double-doubles with their 13 and 14 digs, respectively.

ODU fell 3-0 (19-25, 22-25, 15-25) in its second match of the day to Minnesota State, as the Panthers hit just .089 on the match compared to .296 for MSU. Oestreich had nine kills to lead ODU. Minnesota State (6-1) is picking up votes in the latest AVCA poll.

The Panthers return to action at 7 p.m. Friday when they take on Malone in their GLIAC opener in Canton.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu