The volleyball team defeated Lake Erie, Tiffin and Ohio Dominican last week, putting itself in great position as the season comes to a close.

With only two matches remaining, both at home, Ashland can win the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference South Division with a win over second-place Wayne State on Friday.

Sitting at 21-6 overall and 11-5 in the GLIAC, the Eagles can still gain at least a share of the division with a win over Findlay on Saturday and are in position to host GLIAC tournament first round game with wins in both matches.

Lake Erie (3-22, 0-16)

Ashland defeated Lake Erie 3-0 Wednesday in a great effort from the Eagles.

The team was led by senior Brittany Snider with 17 kills and senior Crystal Elliott, who had 38 assists.

Despite the sweep, head coach Cass Dixon was not entirely pleased with the match.

“A win is a win and I’m not going to knock that,” she said. “I think that we could’ve been a little bit more disciplined in certain areas…as a coach you always think you could’ve played better.”

It must only be a coach’s perspective that can see room for improvement in a match like this.

Ashland thoroughly controlled the match from the start, opening up an 8-4 lead and then growing that lead to 14-6.

The Storm called a last-ditch timeout with the Eagles leading 23-13 and won the next point before losing the following two to lose the set 25-14.

The second set went back and forth with no team really taking control until.

The score was 10-9 before Ashland went on a tear, expanding their lead to 18-11 following Elliott’s ace.

The Storm fought back to a 20-16 deficit before Ashland put the match out of reach with another run. The set was put to game point by a Snider kill and a Storm error won it for the Eagles, 25-17.

The third set opened similar to the second with a strong effort form the outmatched Storm. The set was tied 6-6 before Ashland decided enough was enough.

The Eagles scored three straight points and continued to pile on, getting the lead up to 17-8 and effectively ending the match.

An ace from Marci Zegarac ended the set and the match, 25-12.

Along with good performances from Snider and Elliott, the entire team contributed well.

“I think it was a total team effort,” Dixon said. “We got some really good things from everybody at one point or another. It was a good team win.”

Tiffin (9-18, 2-14)

Ashland played another match Friday night against Tiffin, winning 3-1.

It was a hard-fought win, starting off with a back-and-forth struggle for the lead. Ashland was able to establish control after the second set, winning the last two sets.

The first set was a struggle for the Eagles. The set opened up with a quick 3-1 lead for Ashland after Susie Jonas served an ace, but AU could not take complete control of the match due partly to Tiffin’s quick offense.

“We just needed to play more disciplined defensively, get outside to block the pin hitters faster,” Dixon said.

“We weren’t doing a good job of that at the beginning but we made those adjustments.”

It was close up until the last few points. That was when Kate Eckels made her impact.

A big block, assisted by Jonas, brought the score to 18-16, forcing Tiffin to take a time out. Her kill to take Ashland to a 20-18 lead began to open the match up. Another kill brought the match to 23-18.

A kill by Snider and an Eckels ace ended the set 25-20.

The second set opened up with a run from Ashland, putting the score at 4-1.

However, a quick run from Tiffin kept the set close the entire way through. It slowly slipped out of Ashland’s control, but the Eagles tied it at 23 before losing the next two points to drop the set.

The third set opened up in Ashland’s control.

Following three straight Snider kills, the score was 5-3. Ashland led the set until a Tiffin ace off the net tied the set at 12.

The match stayed within a point until Ashland went on a five-point run, opening up a 20-15 lead. Ashland continued to expand their lead, ending the set at 25-18 with an Eckels kill.

The fourth set opened similar to the rest of the sets, a back-and-forth struggle.

Down 5-4, Ashland ripped off a big run, taking the lead and expanding it to a 12-5 lead that Ashland would not relinquish throughout the match.

Snider brought the set to match point with her match-leading 28th kill and the match was ended by Maureen Johnson’s kill.

The team got great contributions from everybody, especially Snider, Eckels and Elliott, who had 46 assists combined.

“Crystal [Elliott] did a really great job tonight running the offense, making sure everybody got involved,” Dixon said.

Ohio Dominican (12-15, 6-10)

Ashland swept its match Saturday against Ohio Dominican 25-23, 25-12, 25-23.

Ashland was led by Snider again with nine kills and both Jonas and Eckels contributed with eight each. Elliott led the team in assists again with 31 and Zegarac had 18 digs.

This was the team’s fifth straight win, dropping only a single set over this stretch.

Despite the momentum the Eagles have going for them, Dixon is trying to keep her team focused on each game.

“One game at a time, one game at a time, one game at a time and we will take the next one after that one,” she said.

The Eagles will conclude the regular season at home this weekend with matches against Wayne State (7 p.m. Friday) and rival Findlay (6 p.m. Saturday).