The volleyball team (8-3, 6-1 GLIAC) continued GLIAC play this past weekend and continued along their road playing away from Ashland. This past weekend the team went on the road to play Tiffin as well as Ohio Dominican.

Tiffin

The Eagles played the Dragons and came out slow after the drive down to Tiffin. AU lost the first set to the Dragons by the score of 25-17 but seemed to shake it off, going on to sweep the next three sets to beat Tiffin 3-1 (17-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-19). The game wasn’t an offensive explosion by any means either, as the Eagles outhit the Dragons .113 to .085.

The Dragons’ hitting percentage was particularly surprising, especially after the first game in which they hit a sizzling .429. The Eagles’ defense then clamped down and held Tiffin to a negative-.010 percentage the following three sets.

The Eagles fell behind early in the first set 5-0 and could not catch back up from there on their way to a loss in the first set.

The second set started off with the Eagles rushing out to a 6-1 lead and they never looked back on their way to the set win.

The third set saw the Eagles go up 8-0 quickly on the Dragons and take the set from there. Benton had three of her kills in the third set alone.

The fourth set was tied 10-10 about midway through with the Dragons trying to stay alive in the game and force a fifth set. AU then scored three straight points to start to build some separation and then took the set from there, ending it on a kill to take the win.

Offensively, the Eagles were led by freshman Kathy Fletcher who had 11 kills on the night. Senior Anesia Benton added eight kills while sophomore Susie Jonas and junior Brittany Snider both added seven kills. Junior Crystal Elliott accrued another double-double this game, finishing with 32 assists and 11 digs. Senior Arian Martin had 18 digs for the game. Freshman Alyx Crislip had six kills as well as three blocks, two of them being solo.

Ohio Dominican

The Eagles once again had to travel for their Saturday game, heading to Ohio Dominican University to face off against the Panthers.

Although for the second straight game the Eagles dropped their first set, they came back strong to once again win the match in four sets (24-26, 25-19, 25-20, 25-20). The match win gave the Eagles their fourth straight win, their sixth in the past seven.

The hitting was much more efficient this game as AU hit a respectable .277 for the match and held ODU to a .214 percentage, totaling nine blocks.

The first set was a tightly contested battle as no team could take a definitive lead. It was always within three points. Ashland even had a chance to win when they were up 24-23, but lost when ODU scored three straight out of a timeout.

The Eagles came back strong in the second set though, going up 8-2 on the Panthers and never looking back from there. Sophomore Kate Eckels was a huge part of the second set, coming up big with five service aces as well as five digs of her team-leading 15 for the match.

The third set was close to start but was busted open when the Eagles went on a four point streak to take an 18-12 lead and went on to win the set from there. Freshman Maureen Johnson finished the set with a kill.

The fourth set was the Eagles’ all along as they put down a hitting percentage of .378. In fact, senior Anesia Benton, junior Brittany Snider and sophomore Baley Bernthisel all had at least four kills in the set.

Benton and Bernthisel both had 11 kills apiece for the match. Freshman Kathy Fletcher had nine kills to add, with a percentage of .316. Junior Crystal Elliott had 50 assists for the match with six assists to add. Senior Arian Martin had 15 digs.

The Eagles only have one game this weekend, 7 p.m. Friday at home against Lake Erie. They get a much needed break after having traveled the past two weekends.