HAMMOND, Ind. – On Friday afternoon, the Ohio Dominican volleyball team competed against Upper Iowa in their first match of the Midwest Region Crossover. The Panthers and the Peacocks battled through five sets with UIU coming out on top, 3-2.

Box Score Notes

• Four different players recorded double figure kills with Jenna Peters (Vermilion, Ohio) leading them all with 19. Following her was Lauren Lucas (Grove City, Ohio) with 13, Ashley Aselage (Tipp City, Ohio) with 12, and Grace Zinchuk (Schaumburg, Ill.) with 10.
• Senior Kelsey Shoup (Dalton, Ohio) led the way with 24 digs in the game. she added six assists. Behind her was Saige Avery (Yorkville, Ill.) with with 14 digs and Lucas with 10.
• Avery accounted for 24 assists in the five sets. Fellow setter Gabrielle Kirker (Tallmadge, Ohio) tallied 25 assists. Kirker led the way with four service aces.
• At the net, Ava Horn (Whitehouse, Ohio) grabbed eight blocks, two solo and six assisted. Avery netted three blocks.

How It Happened

• The two traded points in the opening set before the Panthers went on a five-point run to take an 11-6 lead. The Peacocks answered with a run of their own to even it at 11-all. After more back and forth, ODU grabbed eight of the last 10 points to win 25-20.
• Similar to the opening set, the two traded points until UIU won five consecutive points to take a 13-8 lead. The Black and Gold rallied with a four-point swing to take a one-point lead, 17-16. Upper Iowa fought until the end, going on a 9-5 run to win the second set 25-22.
• Once again, the two traded points in the third set with kills from Peters and Aselage giving Ohio Dominican the 8-5 edge. A few errors from UIU pushed ODU ahead as many as six, making it 19-13. Remaining in the lead, the Panthers won six of the last nine points to grab the third set, 25-18, taking a 2-1 lead.
• Roles reversed in the fourth set with the Peacocks leading 7-5 early on. Upper Iowa added four consecutive points to extend their lead to 11-6 before the Panthers retaliated with a strong push of their own, grabbing the lead 15-13. UIU went on an 8-2 run, taking a 21-17 lead, but ODU answered with a four-point swing to tie it at 21-all. The Peacocks remained strong, winning four of the last five points to win, 25-22, forcing a fifth set.
• In the final set, Upper Iowa ran out to an 8-2 lead. Ohio Dominican pushed to bring it within three, trailing 13-10. The Peacocks ended the set with back-to-back kills to win 15-11, taking the match, 3-2.

Up Next
The Panthers return to action tomorrow for day two of the Midwest Region Crossover. They will face Missouri S&T at 12:30 PM and Wayne State at 5:30 PM.