COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican volleyball team opened their home schedule by hosting the Yellow Jackets of Cedarville. The Black and Gold came out strong, winning the first two sets, but lost the match 3-2 to Cedarville.

Box Score Notes

• Junior Lauren Lucas (Grove City, Ohio) led the way for the Panthers with 17 kills. The outside hitter grabbed a double-double after collecting 11 digs. Joining her in double figure kills was Ashley Aselage (Tipp City, Ohio) with 10. The sophomore also had two blocks and four digs.
• Five different Panthers had double figure digs with Kelsey Shoup (Dalton, Ohio) leading everyone with 13. Senior Alexis Keipert (Burlington, Ky.) and Lauren Dinunzi (Louisville, Ky.) both registered 12 digs. Dinunzi led with three service aces.
• Gabrielle Kirker (Tallmadge, Ohio) joined Lucas in the double-double column with 27 assists and 12 digs. Fellow setter Saige Avery (Yorkville, Ill.) netted 15 assists and four kills. At the net, Bailey Christiansen (Delaware, Ohio) tallied six blocks with Jenna Peters (Vermilion, Ohio) adding five.

How It Happened

• ODU jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the opening set before the two teams went point for point to equalize it at 7-all. Cedarville tried to keep it close, but Ohio Dominican ran out to a five-point lead with the help of kills from Peters and Grace Zinchuk (Schaumburg, Ill.), making it 17-12.
• The Black and Gold continued to push, allowing the Yellow Jackets only two more points. ODU took six of the last seven points to win the set 25-16.
• In the second set, CU tried to take the advantage by grabbing an early 5-3. The two traded points bringing it to 12-all and then to 18-all. With the set on the line, the Panthers rallied behind four kills from Lucas in the final points to win the second set 25-21, taking a 2-0 lead in sets.
• Similar to the other sets, Ohio Dominican and Cedarville were evenly matched in the opening points. ODU created some separation by winning eight out of nine points, taking a 14-9 lead. The Panthers went ahead 23-16 but the Yellow Jackets fought until the end, going on a 10-1 run to take the third set 26-24.
• With the momentum, Cedarville came out in the third set strong going on a 5-2 run. CU remained in the lead the rest of the match, extending it to 21-13, after a six-point swing. The Black and Gold fell in the fourth match, 25-16, forcing a fifth set.
• With the game on the line, both teams battled with CU having the edge, 7-6. The Yellow Jackets then went on a four point run, growing their lead to 11-6. The Panthers brought it within three but couldn't push ahead, dropping the final set, 15-11, and the match, 3-2.

Up Next
Ohio Dominican returns to Alumni Hall to host Tiffin at 6:00 PM on Friday evening.