COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican volleyball team continues to dance in the postseason after sweeping #2 Ashland on Tuesday evening in the Quarterfinals. The #7 Panthers will take on the #6 Dragons of Tiffin University on Friday evening in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Semifinals hosted by Hillsdale College.

About Ohio Dominican
Senior Kelsey Shoup (Dalton, Ohio) has recorded double-digit digs in every match this fall except one. The libero averages 4.55 digs per set, the sixth best in the conference. With her 21 digs against Ashland, she now has 532 digs on the year and 1,652 digs in her career.

Both setters for the Black and Gold recently joined the 1,000 career assists club. Gabrielle Kirker (Tallmadge, Ohio) collected her 1,000 assist against Ky. Wesleyan on November 3 and Saige Avery (Yorkville, Ill.) followed at Ashland on November 14. Avery snagged 21 assists while Kirker accounted for 20 against the Eagles.

At the net, sophomore Ashley Aselage (Tipp City, Ohio) led the way with 14 kills in the opening round of the tournament. The right side hitter now has 304 kills on the season and an average of 2.62 kills per set. Following her Tuesday was this week's South Division Offensive Athlete of the Week, Jenna Peters (Vermilion, Ohio). Peters notched 12 kills, bringing her season total to 318 kills and an average of 2.77 kills per set.

Junior Lauren Lucas (Grove City, Ohio) continues to lead the team, averaging 3.04 kills per set after grabbing nine kills in the last match. Lucas also added 11 digs, bringing her season total to 255. Sophomore Grace Zinchuk (Schaumburg, Ill.) is a force to be reckoned with at the net. The middle blocker leads ODU with 86 total blocks on the year, recording two earlier this week.

The Panthers are currently on a six game winning streak with five of the six matches being 3-0 sweeps. They post an overall record of 16-11 and a conference record of 11-8. As a team, Ohio Dominican averages 12.4 kills per set, the fourth best average in the conference. They average the third most digs per set with 15.5 and have the third lowest opponent hitting percentage at .157.

Ohio Dominican returns to the Semifinals for just the second time since joining the Great Midwest Athletic Conference for the 2017 season. Both times, head coach Amy Bambenek, has been at the helm, including the first time coming in her second season.

About Tiffin
The Dragons enter Friday with an overall record of 18-13 and a G-MAC mark of 11-8. In their Quarterfinal round, #6 Tiffin, took down #3 Walsh in five back and forth sets to advance to the Semifinals.

On Tuesday evening, for different hitters found themselves in double figures for the Green and Gold. Leading the way was Kaylee Freund with 17. Following her was Wakaya Wilson with 14 and Kenedi Goon and Alivia Rew with 12 each. Wilson and Goon posted double-doubles with 15 and 11 digs.

Leading the way in the backrow was Olivia Karhoff with 23 digs. Following her was Addison Conti with 19 digs. Conti also recorded a double-double as she netted 38 assists in the match. She also added three service aces. Fellow setter, Clare Kwiatkowski, posted 19 assists.

The Dragons are the number one blocking team in the conference with 263.5 total blocks, an average of 2.37 blocks per set. Against the Cavaliers, Freund registered five solo blocks and two assisted blocks. She leads the conference with an average of 1.12 blocks per set.

History
The Dragons and the Panthers are tied in their all-time record at 12-12 dating back to 2009. Earlier this season, Tiffin went 2-0 against Ohio Dominican including a 3-0 win in Columbus in September and a 3-1 in Tiffin in October.

In the G-MAC Tournament, ODU holds a 2-2 record with a 0-1 mark in the Semifinals. TU posts a 5-4 record in the G-MAC Tournament with a 2-1 mark in the Semifinal round. The Dragons made it to the Champions game during the 2019 season and the 2021 spring season.

Potential Opponents
The other teams joining Ohio Dominican and Tiffin is #1 Hillsdale (25-6, 16-3) and #4 Findlay (23-7, 15-4). The Chargers are led by Marilyn Popplewell who averages 3.37 kills per set. Setter, Lauren Passaglia, averages 9.03 assists per set with Alli Wiese averaging 5.00 digs per set.

For the Oilers, Kirsetn Bomholt averages a team high of 3.20 kills per set. Setter, Emma White, has posted 1,199 assists this fall, an average of 10.52 per set. In the backrow, Ava Doster averages 3.13 digs per set.

Game Times
The Chargers and the Oilers will play the opening game on Friday night at 5:00 PM with the Panthers and the Dragons playing in the nightcap at 7:30 PM. All games will be played at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena in Hillsdale, Michigan.