COLUMBUS, Ohio – Looking to sweep the Michigan teams on the opening weekend of conference play, the Ohio Dominican Panthers (8-2, 2-0 G-MAC) had to work overtime to defeat the Hillsdale Chargers (4-5, 0-2 G-MAC) on Saturday (Sept. 12) afternoon at Alumni Hall.
For the second straight year, the Panthers defeated Hillsdale – this time in five sets. With the win, ODU has won 15 straight home games and is off to a 2-0 start in G-MAC action.
- Set 1: HC 25-15
- The first 14 points of the set had five ties and both teams holding the lead. The Panthers led by two twice (5-3 & 6-4) before Hillsdale regained the lead 8-7. After Hillsdale got the lead back, they outscored the Panthers 17-8 to win the first set.
- Set 2: ODU 25-23
- The Panthers opened the second set on a flurry with the first four points on kills by three different players and an error. Hillsdale trimmed the lead to one four different times but could not tie the set. With a 7-6 lead, ODU went on a 12-5 run to lead 19-11 as ODU forced Hillsdale to a timeout. The Chargers charged back with a 12-5 rally to cut the lead to 24-23. Annie Fincham claimed the set with a kill as ODU tied the match at one set each.
- Set 3: ODU 25-21
- Hillsdale scored eight of the first 12 points, leading 8-4 as ODU took a timeout. The Panthers scored eight straight points, taking a 12-8 lead as Hillsdale used both timeouts to stop the run. After the timeouts, the Chargers got within one point at 14-13 after scoring five of the next seven points. The set was later tied 17-17 but back-to-back errors gave the Panthers the lead for good. Ava Horn capped the set with a kill as ODU won 25-21.
- Set 4: HC 25-20
- Hillsdale started with a 6-1 run and led by as many as five points three more times. Trailing 11-6, ODU went on a 7-3 run as they cut the lead down to 14-13 on a Katie Zwick service ace. The Chargers got the lead to 18-14 as ODU called timeout. Four Panther points got them down 19-18 but Hillsdale pulled away to a 25-20 set win, forcing a fifth set.
- Set 5: ODU 15-7
- Three kills by Fincham and an ace by Tess Hayes allowed ODU to lead 5-0 in the final set. The Panthers expanded the lead to as many as eight and held off the Hillsdale rally for a five set win, 15-7.
- Individual Leaders
- Team Categories
- Kills: ODU 64, HC 52
- Assists: ODU 58, HC 49
- Aces: ODU 7, HC 3
- Digs: ODU 78, HC 73
- Blocks: ODU 8, HC 8
- Hitting %: HC .214, ODU .170
ODU will step away from conference action to host West Liberty on Tuesday (Sept. 15) at 7:00 PM.
