COLUMBUS, Ohio – Senior Tory Thompson (Quincy, Ohio) racked up a career-high 36 kills, but Ohio Dominican's volleyball team couldn't finish a rally from a 2-0 deficit as the Panthers fell in five sets (19-25, 21-25, 25-20, 26-24, 13-15) to visiting Saginaw Valley on Friday night.

Thompson added 17 digs, freshman Bailey Line (Westerville, Ohio) handed out a season-high 61 helpers, and sophomore Kelly Nadler (Leipsic, Ohio) tallied a personal-best 19 kills as well, but ODU let a 7-3 lead in the final frame slip away.

The 36 kills are tied for the second most of any Division II player in a five set match this season.

ODU (4-10, 1-6 GLIAC) finished with 71 kills in the match, compared to 60 for the Cardinals (8-8, 4-4 GLIAC), but committed 11 more attack errors (33-22). SVSU hit .184 while the Panthers finished with a .165 hitting percentage.

The Panthers had a lead of 10-4 in the first set that they couldn't protect as the Cardinals rallied for the six point win, hitting .293 in the frame with 14 kills against just two errors. The Cardinals never trailed in the second set to seemingly take control of the match.

ODU bounced back in the third, though. Leading 13-12, Thompson and senior Jackie Oestreich (Brighton, Mich.) notched kills, and a kill by Nadler and a solo stuff by Oestreich forced a Cardinal time out at 17-13. The Panthers stretched the lead out to as much as seven on a termination by Thompson to make it 24-17, and another kill by Thompson closed the set.

The Panthers carried that momentum into the fourth frame and led 17-12 after consecutive kills by Nadler and Thompson, but the Cardinals stormed back with six straight points to pull back in front. The Panthers trailed 24-22 before Oestreich and Nadler teamed up on a block, and the ODU defense forced three consecutive hitting errors by SVSU to give the Panthers the set and force it to five.

Thompson had three quick kills sandwiched around an ace by sophomore Anna Ficker (Cincinnati, Ohio) to give ODU a 4-1 lead in the fifth, and Nadler's kill gave the Panthers their biggest edge at 7-3. SVSU countered with a 6-1 run to take its first lead of the set at 9-8. A kill by sophomore Patricia Barreto (Findlay, Ohio) temporarily put the Panthers back in front at 10-9, but that was ODU's final lead. Thompson kept the Panthers within a point with a kill at 14-13, but the Cardinals sealed the match with a kill on the next point to end it.

Senior Megan Hendershot (Galloway, Ohio) finished with 32 digs and senior Taylor Foster (Ida, Mich.) chipped in with 20 digs as well.

Thompson easily shattered her previous career-best of 22 kills and hit .215 in the match as well. Nadler's previous career high in kills was 16, and she also swung at a .326 clip. Line had never registered more than 29 assists this season.

Ohio Dominican remains at home at 2 p.m. Saturday to take on Lake Superior State.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu