CEDARVILLE, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican volleyball team made its first postseason appearance since 2014 but fell in five sets in the Great Midwest Tournament Quarterfinal at Cedarville Tuesday night.

Ohio Dominican dropped the first set 25-15 before rallying to win Sets Two and Three, both 25-23. Cedarville (9-3) took a competitive fourth set, 25-22, and used and early scoring run in the decisive fifth game to win 15-13.

BOX SCORE NOTES

• Sophomore Emilee Fecht (Hilliard, Ohio) led the way for ODU with 15 kills, falling one shy of her career high mark. Fecht hit a team-best .312 in the match and added five blocks and five digs on defense.
• Junior Amanda Remmetter (Springfield, Ohio) tallied 14 kills. On defense, Remmetter posted five digs and three blocks.
• A third Panther finished with double digit kills in junior Abbi Gillson (Canton, Ohio). Gillson logged 11 kills and three blocks.
• Sophomore Carleigh Deitsch (St. Henry, Ohio) paced the Panthers with 29 assists and added 10 digs as well.
• Freshman Kelsey Shoup (Dalton, Ohio) and sophomore Madison Smith (Elyria, Ohio) also recorded double-digit digs. Shoup led the way with 21, while also registering a team-best three aces. Smith recorded 16 digs to go with five kills and two blocks.
• ODU and Cedarville combined for 19 service aces in the match, as well as 18 total blocks.
• The Yellow Jackets also hit .234, while the Panthers logged a .202 hitting percentage.

GAME ONE

• Ohio Dominican scored the first two points of the match, both involving Remmetter.
• The Panthers though, were on the wrong side of a 5-1 run that gave the Yellow Jackets a five-point advantage early on.
• Cedarville continued its efficient offensive attack, hitting .314 for the set. The Yellow Jackets led by as many as 10 points on three occasions, including the final set tally, 25-15.

GAME TWO

• Powered by six kills and two blocks from Fecht, the Black & Gold won the second set, 25-23.
• A 3-0 scoring run gave ODU a 6-3 lead. Fecht posted two of her kills in the early set run.
• The Panthers eventually pushed their advantage to seven points, 18-11, after an ace from Shoup and a kill by Fecht.
• Cedarville rallied, closing its deficit to one point on two occasions, including 24-23. The Yellow Jackets denied two set point opportunities for ODU, by a big swing from Gillson gave the Panthers the set.

GAME THREE

• Just as they did in the regular season, CU and ODU had another thrilling third set during a 1-1 match.
• With seven ties and three lead changes, the Panthers scored the final six points to win the frame, 25-23.
• Trailing by three points, back-to-back blocks from Fecht and Kirksey, followed by a Fecht kill tied the game at 23-all.
• Shoup served her second ace of the match to give the Panthers their first lead since 10-9.
• Following a Cedarville timeout, Fecht and Smith blocked a Yellow Jacket attack, and the ball fell near the back of the CU court for the final point.
• Ohio Dominican had 4.5 total team blocks in the third game and held CU to a match-low .047 hitting percentage.

GAME FOUR

• Set Four was played within a five-point window, as Cedarville's largest lead was three points and ODU's two. There were nine ties and four lead changes in the frame.
• The Panthers rallied from a three-point deficit and one of eight kills from Remmetter in the set tied the game at 19-all.
• Cedarville though, closed the set on a 3-1 scoring run, including the final two points to win 25-22 and send the match into a fifth and decisive set.

GAME FIVE

• The winner-take-all fifth set saw the Yellow Jackets jump out to an early lead, 5-1, forcing ODU into a timeout.
• Cedarville pushed its lead to five points, 8-3, but an 5-2 scoring spurt from the Panthers forced the Yellow Jackets into a timeout. ODU trailed 10-8 after back-to-back kills from sophomore Kamryn Maxwell (Norwalk, Ohio) and Remmetter.
• Out of the break, Cedarville had two big swings to capture a 12-8 advantage.
• Trailing by five points again, 13-8, ODU rallied for four consecutive points, highlighted by attacks from Remmetter and Gillson.
• Cedarville though, took two of the final three points to secure the set, 15-13, and the match, 3-2.

The Panthers finish the 2021 season with a 7-5 record. Under first year head coach Amy Bambenek, ODU secured its first winning season since 2015.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu