COLUMBUS, OH – The Ohio Dominican volleyball team delivered a statement win to close out Homecoming Weekend, sweeping the Tiffin Dragons 3-0 inside Alumni Hall on Saturday afternoon. Building on the momentum from their sweep of Lake Erie earlier in the week, the Panthers have now won seven of their last eight matches, with six of those victories coming by way of sweeps. 

Senior outside hitter Jenna Peters led the charge with 14 kills and 12 digs, also contributing three blocks at the net. Senior setter Saige Avery continued her strong play, dishing out 20 assists and adding a service ace. Senior outside hitter Ashley Aselage was also a force offensively, finishing with 10 kills. Defensively, junior libero Lauren Dinunzi anchored the back row with a match-high 20 digs. 

Statistically, Ohio Dominican outmatched Tiffin across the board. The Panthers tallied 52 total points compared to the Dragons' 39, registering 43 kills to Tiffin's 30. ODU held a narrow 7-6 edge in blocks and recorded 39 assists to the Dragons' 27. On defense, the Panthers out-dug Tiffin 63-51 while hitting for a .200 attacking percentage. The only area where the Dragons had an advantage was in service aces. 

Tiffin opened the first set strong, jumping to a 7-3 lead, but the Panthers clawed their way back behind a few key kills. Saige Avery sparked a run at the service line that helped ODU take a 14-11 lead. Later in the set, senior Gabrielle Kirker went on a crucial four-point service run to push the lead to 20-14. ODU maintained momentum and took the set 25-18. 

The second set played out similarly, though this time the Panthers struck early. They opened with a 6-1 lead and found rhythm behind another strong service run from Kirker that extended the lead to 11-3. Though Tiffin battled back with scattered points, they were never able to close the gap, and ODU claimed the set 25-19. 

In the third and final set, Tiffin refused to go quietly. The teams were tied at 8-8 before ODU pulled ahead with a 5-of-6 point run to gain an 18-12 advantage. Down the stretch, a service ace from Dinunzi and a final kill from Peters sealed the set 25-21 and secured the sweep for the Panthers. 

Looking On
Ohio Dominican will now look ahead to a Tuesday night road matchup against the Thomas More Saints. First serve is set for 6 PM. The Saints are coming off a 3-1 win over Ashland earlier this afternoon.