COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Dominican Panthers (19-6, 9-3 G-MAC) volleyball team finished up the G-MAC South slate with a pair of contests inside of Alumni Hall.
On Friday (Oct. 23) evening, it was a battle of Panthers as the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers (5-17, 1-9 G-MAC) entered Columbus. The Thomas More Saints (7-15, 3-8 G-MAC) faced the Panthers on Saturday (Oct. 23) afternoon.
ODU took both ends of the weekend for their 20th straight home win - seventh longest in Division II as they moved into fourth place in the G-MAC standings.
W, 3-1 vs. Kentucky Wesleyan
- Set 1: KWC 26-24
- In a very competitive set, the Panthers combined for 14 ties and six lead changes with a high energy crowd. The set was tied nine times before a team was able to lead by more than three points. After an ODU 11-10 lead, a 5-0 KWC run put the purple Panthers ahead 15-11. As KWC led 21-17, ODU scored five straight points to regain the 22-21 advantage. ODU neared set point at 24-23 but KWC rallied and won the set with the final three points.
- Set 2: ODU 25-16
- ODU came out swinging in the second set, scoring 11 of the first 16 points as KWC called timeout down 11-5. Four KWC points got them within 11-9. ODU outscored them 14-7 to win the second set 25-16.
- Set 3: ODU 25-17
- Another fast start put the Black and Gold ahead by as many as 12 points three times. Kentucky Wesleyan slimmed the lead to seven twice but Ohio Dominican took the set 25-17.
- Set 4: ODU 25-15
- With five of the first six points, ODU led wire-to-wire in set four. An 11-3 ODU run put the set out of reach as the Panthers led by 14 points at 23-9 en route to a 25-15 win.
- Individual Leaders
- Team Categories
- Kills: ODU 53, KWC 35
- Assists: ODU 43, KWC 33
- Aces: KWC 6, ODU 5
- Digs: ODU 67, KWC 56
- Blocks: ODU 10, KWC 2
- Hitting %: ODU .227, KWC .049
W, 3-0 vs. Thomas More
- Set 1: ODU 25-19
- ODU scored six of the first seven points and never looked back. The Panthers led by as many as nine to cruise to a set one win 25-19.
- Set 2: ODU 25-20
- Thomas More led 5-2 before ODU went on a 6-0 run for a 8-5 lead. As the Panthers led 12-7, a 7-0 Thomas More rally took back the lead and saw the Saints winning 14-12. Back-to-back kills tied the set at 14 and ODU ended the set on a 13-6 run.
- Set 3: ODU 25-20
- The Saints scored the first point of the set but ODU answered with five straight points. Thomas More responded with eight of the next 11 points as they jumped in front 9-8. Another swing in momentum saw ODU go on a 7-2 run, forcing Thomas More to call timeout trailing 15-11. Four straight Saints points tied the set as ODU used a timeout. A 10-5 run for the Panthers ended the match in a sweep.
- Individual Leaders
- Team Categories
- Kills: ODU 45, TMU 30
- Assists: ODU 41, TMU 28
- Aces: ODU 12, TMU 4
- Digs: TMU 46, ODU 44
- Blocks: TMU 5, ODU 2
- Hitting %: ODU .238, TMU .191
The final two home regular season matches will take place next week as ODU hosts Ursuline and Lake Erie.
