CANTON, Ohio – Ohio Dominican's defense shined as the volleyball team swept Malone (25-10, 25-22, 25-17) and Southern Wesleyan (25-23, 25-19, 28-26) on Friday in the Hall of Fame City Challenge, giving first year head coach Jenn Fekpe her first collegiate victories.

The Panthers stymied Malone in the opener, holding the Pioneers to just 23 kills and an .028 hitting percentage in the match. Defensively, ODU tallied 49 digs and four total blocks.

ODU stepped up defensively against the Warriors in the nightcap as well, limiting Southern Wesleyan to an .098 attack percentage while racking up 61 digs and seven total blocks. Last year, the Warriors won 22 matches and hit .266 as a team while finishing second in Conference Carolinas.

Against Malone, senior Tory Thompson (Quincy, Ohio) notched a double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs while senior Jackie Oestreich (Brighton, Mich.) finished with 10 kills, hitting .429. Senior Megan Hendershot (Galloway, Ohio) matched Thompson with 14 digs, and Howser had an impressive debut with seven kills with a .353 attack percentage.

A 7-0 run broke open the first set, with Oestreich chipping in two kills, freshman Leah Howser (Lewis Center, Ohio) a kill, and Thompson an ace to stake ODU to a 20-9 lead. The Panthers hit .290 in the frame while limiting Malone to just five kills and seven hitting errors as ODU took it 25-10.

In the second set, ODU led 8-3 early, but Malone rallied and led by as much as four (14-10) midway through the set. Consecutive kills from Howser brought ODU level at 17-17, and Oestreich had a pair of terminations that put ODU in front 19-17. Senior Taylor Foster (Ida, Mich.) joined the act with a kill, then teamed with Oestreich on a block to make it 21-17. Another kill by Foster put the set away at 25-22.

The Panthers steadily pulled away in the third set, pushing a 12-10 advantage out to 19-13 before taking a 25-17 win.

Freshman Bailey Line (Westerville, Ohio) led ODU with 19 assists and sophomore Jordan Jaeckin (Olmsted Falls, Ohio) added 12 helpers for the Panthers.

Against Southern Wesleyan, the Panthers jumped to a 6-1 lead in the first set, then held on late for a 25-23 win. Thompson finished with eight kills in the set while Foster notched nine digs in the frame.

In the second frame, ODU held a slim 19-18 lead before closing with a 6-1 run. Oestreich and Howser had kills, and three consecutive hitting errors by the Warriors helped ODU pull away.

The Panthers trailed throughout much of the third set before finishing strong. ODU trailed 21-18 and 23-21 before moving in front 24-23 on kills by Thompson and Oestreich and a tandem block by Oestreich and Line.

SWU recovered to score the next two points and served for the set, but consecutive hitting errors put ODU back on top 26-25. The Panthers couldn't put it away initially, though, as Southern Wesleyan answered with a kill, but ODU finished it off with a kill by Line and another SWU error.

Thompson narrowly missed a career high in kills as she recorded 19 in the three set win, one shy of her personal best. She hit .277 in the match.

Oestreich finished with 12 kills, hitting .258, and had four block assists and a solo block, and Foster set a career high with 21 digs. Line notched 22 helpers with Jaeckin adding 12, and Hendershot notched 13 digs with sophomore Anna Ficker (Cincinnati, Ohio) chipping in with 10.

Ohio Dominican will wrap up play in Canton tomorrow with a 2 p.m. match against Mercyhurst and a 7 p.m. tilt with Notre Dame.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu