AU v. Tiffin, W 3-0  25-15, 25-19, 25-16

The Ashland University volleyball team is slowing getting their footing back and is on track to make great progress in the GLIAC. This past Friday, the Eagles took on Tiffin, coming out on top 3-0.

Leading up to Friday night against Tiffin, the team had focused on their defense. “We focused on defending the first tempo attack,” said AU’s head coach Cass Dixon. “They like to run everything low and fast.” 

In each set in the match, Ashland had more than 10 kills and five or less hitting errors. They held Tiffin to a .010 hitting percentage. AU totaled 49 digs, three solo blocks and 12 block assists

Of the team’s 41 kills on the night, Sam Zuber led the group with 11. Alli Cudworth followed closely behind with 10 kills as well as 11 digs. This is her fifth consecutive double-double this season.

Both Zuber and Cudworth are captains and Dixon is very proud of what they’ve done thus far. 

“Our captains have done a good job of working hard every day in practice. Their work ethic is their strongest attribute to the team. It definitely transfers over to their teammates,” Dixon raved.

Defensively the Eagles have been on a hot streak. Kilee Kimmel led the team with 17 digs. Zuber also contributed to the defense with six block assists.

“We are must more disciplined and that is turning into more swings in transition for our hitters,” Dixon said. 

This is crunch time for the Eagles. The post-season is right around the corner and they are tied for eighth place in the GLIAC tournament.

“Of course we would like to already have qualified for the conference tournament. However, we put ourselves in this position,” said Dixon. “We are fighting for a spot in the tournament still.  It may not be what we wanted when the season started but we have at least put ourselves in a position to still make it happen. Our goal is to win out our last two matches and make the tournament.

AU v. Ohio Dominican, W 3-1 25-23, 11-25, 25-21, 25-22

The first of November showed positive for the Eagles as they took the victory from Ohio Dominican, 3-1.

“The win over ODU was a great confidence booster,” Dixon said. “It was the first time this season where we were up- down and then fought hard to come back.”

There is no reason for anyone to put Ashland out of the post-season just yet. The team is now 9-7 in the GLIAC, 9-14 overall. In their last five games, AU has went 4-1.

 ‘Disciplined’ has been a word that is used by Dixon to describe her team, and there isn’t one that better fits. “At one point we were down by 8 or 9 points and pulled ourselves back in it in the second set.”

The offensive star of the night was none other than Alli Cudworth, with 20 kills on the night off of 49 attempts. 

Casey Clark and Rylee Scott also had high numbers up at the net, with 10 and 12 respectively. 

However, a team’s hitters can’t do what they are supposed to without the talent of the team’s setter. Katie Siefert has gotten better consistently through the season.

“Siefert has been doing a good job of distributing the ball to our hitters,” said Dixon. She recorded 46 assists of the team’s 49.

Ashland’s defense isn’t one to take lightly, either. Casey Clark snagged 18 digs during the match and Sam Zuber contributed with 6 blocks 

Ashland has two more matches left during the regular season. Both are home in Kate’s Gymnasium. They will play Hillsdale on Friday Nov. 7 at 7pm and Saturday Nov. 8 against Findlay at 2pm.