The Eagles had a tough weekend, losing two road matches to Ferris State and Grand Valley State. The losses drop Ashland to 13-4 and 6-3 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. They are now fifth in the GLIAC.

The Eagles opened up the weekend at Ferris State, losing in straight sets 25-20, 25-12, 26-24.

The first two sets were all Bulldogs. Ashland was overwhelmed by Ferris State, losing two lopsided sets.

The third set was a hard-fought one, but Ashland was unable to prevail. They led 18-13, but FSU was able to rally back to tie the set at 19, and then at 23.

However, Ferris State overcame Ashland’s strong play and won the set and the match.

Senior Brittany Snider led the match with 16 kills and Senior Crystal Elliott had 32 assists and three block assists.

Unfortunately, the weekend did not get any easier for the Eagles at perennial powerhouse Grand Valley State.

AU lost 15-25, 25-18, 25-14, 18-25, 10-15 in a close match.

The first set opened well in a back-and-forth rally before GVSU took control of the set 10-6. After falling behind 18-9, AU attempted to fight back but the Lakers won the set convincingly.

The second and third sets were completely controlled by Ashland. In the second set, Ashland jumped out to a 16-10 lead. GVSU tried to chip away at the lead, but AU controlled the set through their victory.

The third set was a dominant performance by Ashland, going up 8-6 before scoring seven straight points, then finishing off the set comfortably.

This would be the last set that Ashland won. The fourth set was a back and forth affair, settling at 15-14 before the Lakers went on an 11-3 run, putting away the fourth set and rolling into the fifth set with a ton of momentum. They opened up the fifth set 7-3 before Ashland closed the gap, 13-10. Those were the last points AU scored before losing the set and match.

The team will be in action this weekend at the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover tournament.