NORTH CANTON, Ohio – Ohio Dominican's volleyball team had match point but couldn't close out host Walsh as the Panthers closed their season with a 3-2 loss (23-25, 25-22, 17-25, 25-23, 16-18) on Friday night in GLIAC play.

ODU (8-18, 3-13 GLIAC) led by as much as four in the final set and held a 14-12 advantage before the Cavaliers rallied.

Senior Tory Thompson (Quincy, Ohio) closed her career with another superlative match, tallying 24 kills and hitting .258 while also registering 12 digs. She finishes her career with 1,350 kills and 1,283 digs in 113 matches.

Senior Jackie Oestreich (Brighton, Mich.) registered 15 kills while swinging .279. She recorded 1,110 kills and 407 total blocks during her four years at ODU.

Senior Taylor Foster (Ida, Mich.) led ODU with 21 digs and added five kills, while senior Megan Hendershot (Galloway, Ohio) finished with 20 digs. Foster finished with 199 career blocks and Hendershot finished with 976 career digs.

In the first set, ODU scored three straight points to go in front 22-21 after a kill by Kelly Nadler (Leipsic, Ohio) and consecutive blocks by the tandem of Thompson and Patricia Barreto (Findlay, Ohio). Walsh, though, scored four of the last five points to take the set.

The second set was close late as well. Tied at 19, Oestreich had two straight kills, and a Walsh error put ODU in front 22-19. The Cavaliers crept within one on a pair of occasions, but a kill by Nadler and a block by Barreto and Foster ended the set in ODU's favor.

After dropping the third set, ODU came out strong in the fourth frame, jumping to a 12-4 lead. The Panthers still led by eight (21-13) before Walsh rallied to draw within 24-23. However, Thompson put the set away with a kill to send it to the fifth.

In that fifth set, ODU scored the first three points and had leads of 7-3 and 9-5. Walsh tied it at 12-12, but Thompson had a pair of kills to put ODU up 14-12. The Cavaliers countered with three straight points, and after ODU forged ties at 15-15 and 16-16, closed the match with the final two points.

Nadler finished with 14 kills and freshman Bailey Line (Westerville, Ohio) had 40 assists and 10 digs as well.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu