Wayne State traveled to AU last Thursday followed by Findlay Friday and Hillsdale Saturday. Wayne State delivered a 3-1 loss in the first match, while the Eagles took care of the Oilers by the same score in the second match. The Chargers got the best of AU in the home finale with a close 3-2 victory.

Wayne State

The Warriors came out to play last Thursday as the Eagles gave up a season-high hitting percentage of .343. This was a particularly important match for the Eagles, considering with the win, Wayne State (11-11, 9-6 GLIAC) moved ahead of AU in the GLIAC South standings. Ashland now sits in third, one win behind the Warriors who trail first place Hillsdale by seven games.

The opening set was competitive throughout despite AU hitting only .077 and letting WSU hit .371. Ashland came back in the second set after tying the score at 12 apiece. AU took the lead off of a service ace and never looked back winning, 25-19.

The third set didn’t go well as the Eagles fell behind 10-5 and couldn’t close the margin as WSU took a 20-15 lead late into the set before eventually winning, 25-18.

The Eagles found success in the beginning of the fourth set but the second half was all Warriors as they ended any chance of a comeback finishing off AU, 25-21.

Anesia Benton led the Eagles tallying 14 kills with only two errors for a .500 hitting percentage. Senior Sophie Paddock went 8-for-14 earning a match-high hitting percentage of .571.

Arian Martin gave the AU offense opportunities digging out 24 balls, her second-highest of the season.

Findlay

Findlay (11-13, 5-10 GLIAC) threw everything but the kitchen sink at AU as 14 Oilers saw action to no avail as the Eagles triumphed in four sets.

The first set was back and forth with no team gaining a significant lead. Tied at 22-22, Ashland rattled off three straight points thanks to two setting errors and a key block. Set number two went to the Oilers before the real action of set three ensued.

It looked like the Eagles were going to lose the third set trailing 23-19, but buckled down and fought for the pivotal win. Freshman Kate Eckels earned two consecutive kills and fellow freshman Baley Bernthisel added one of her own to come within one, 23-22. Findlay then scored again only needing one more point to gain a commanding 2-1 lead. Trailing by one point at the most important part of the match, AU turned to Benton who didn’t disappoint. Benton secured the win by hammering home three consecutive kills taking the set, 26-24.

Down 24-20 in the fourth set, Ashland made it clear a fifth set was not happening. Despite facing set point, AU completed the comeback. Freshman Susannah Jonas contributed two key kills while Martin converted on a service ace helping AU win, 30-28.

Hillsdale

The Hillsdale Chargers are pretty good. That’s just a fact but the Eagles (16-10, 9-8 GLIAC) proved Saturday that they are no pushovers either.

Despite being stretched to five sets, No. 10 Hillsdale (23-1, 17-0 GLIAC) extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 22 after beating AU 25-20, 20-25, 20-25, 25-15, 15-9.

Hillsdale’s highest hitting percentage came in the fourth set when the Chargers earned the largest margin of victory, 25-15. The Eagles and Chargers traded 25-20 set wins for the first three sets. Hillsdale took the first before AU could respond in the second set.

The atmosphere was electric for the fifth set but in the end it was Hillsdale who left satisfied. The few errors Ashland made were capitalized on by the Hillsdale hitters, resulting in the 15-9 win.

Eckels led Ashland with 19 kills in 61 attacks. Paddock contributed 10 kills with only two errors in 25 attacks. Benton had 14 kills and Elliott had a team-high 44 assists. Bernthisel had four total blocks (two solo) and four aces. Paddock had two solo blocks and three assisted.

The final four matches of the regular season will be played on the road for AU.

The first is at California (PA) Wednesday, Nov. 3, starting at 7 p.m.