TIFFIN, Ohio - Resiliency has been a characteristic for the Dragons volleyball team this season, and it was even more evident after falling behind 7-0 in the first set. Tiffin (8-5, 5-3) went on to lose the first set, but it rebounded for the 18-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-23 win over Ohio Dominican (4-8, 1-6 GLIAC) Friday night.
Tiffin outhit Ohio Dominican .175-.160 for the match, including .289-.222 in the momentum-swinging second set. Brooke Bernabei led the Dragons with 17 kills, finishing off the double-double with 15 digs. Jessica Adams contributed a game-high 47 assists and also reached double-digits in digs with 15.
Libero Lindsay Heller added a team-high 30 digs while Danielle McQuade and Brittany Teaford added 16 and 13 kills, respectively, for Tiffin.
Game one saw Ohio Dominican jump out to a 7-0 lead on the back of Brooke Billings serve. Tiffin cut the deficit to two at 15-13, but another strong service run by Billings led the Panthers to a seven-point first set win.
Set number two was a whole different story. A service ace by Adams and a pair of kills gave the Dragons a quick 3-0 lead in the set. Trading points back and forth up until TU held a 13-9 lead, the Dragons rattled off five of the next seven points to take an 18-11 advantage. Ohio Dominican used a mini run to cut it to 23-19, but a Panthers' service and attack error ended the second set and tied the match.
In the third, Tiffin held off Ohio Dominican to take a 2-1 lead. Serving runs by Jordan Jenkins pushed the Tiffin lead to 23-14. Trailing 17-14, ODU's Emily Post hit an attack error to put Tiffin on serve. Up stepped Jenkins, who got four-straight kills by Bernabei and a solo block by Teaford to put Tiffin up nine. Ohio Dominican again did not go quietly, scoring the next five to bring the visitors within four. After a TU timeout, Teaford wrapped a pair of kills around an attack error for the Tiffin 25-20 win.
The fourth set was close, but the Dragons remained calm and pulled the final frame out. Down 20-19, a kill by McQuade, an attack error by ODU and an attack error put Tiffin up by one. Ohio Dominican knotted the match on a kill, but a Teaford kill and an Adams ace gave Tiffin a little breathing room. Both teams split the final four points for the two-point win.
Tiffin returns to action next Friday (Oct. 8) when it hosts Northern Michigan. Match time is 7 p.m.
