TIFFIN, Ohio - Coming into the weekend, Tiffin head coach Dana Cordova knew her team could come out and sweep the opening weekend of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games, but the task would be a difficult one.
The Dragons were up to the task.
"The weekend sweep was pretty nice," Cordova said. "Our goal this week was to at least split. We knew we could win both, but it would take a lot of effort on our end. It's very nice to get two wins in conference."
Tiffin (4-2, 2-0 GLIAC) won the first two sets and rallied in the fourth to down Lake Superior State (3-3, 1-1 GLIAC) 25-23, 25-17, 24-24, 25-21 Saturday afternoon in Tiffin.
Individually in the match, Danielle McQuade paced the Dragons with a double-double (17 kills, 13 digs), but it was Brittany Teaford who hit a jaw-dropping .700 on the court (15 kills and only one error on 20 attempts). Jessica Adams added 46 assists while Lindsay Heller contributed 20 digs.
For Lake Superior, Jeanna Radzinski and Abby Shereda both had 12 kills while Brittany Newberry added 17 digs.
Continuing a theme from the fifth set Friday, where Tiffin came back from a five-point deficit, the Dragons found themselves in a 20-17 hole in the first but came storming back by winning four of the next five points to tie the set at 21. Lake Superior would not go quietly as Radzinski and Janelle Balkwill both tallied kills to put the visitors up two. But no matter for the home team, who rallied off four straight points for the set. A pair of McQuade kills, an ace and an attack error gave Tiffin the first set.
Winning the first six points of the second set catapulted Tiffin to an eight-point second set win.
In the third frame, Lake Superior State showed its resiliency. Up 23-19, an attack error by the Laker's Emily Snyder put Tiffin on set point. But Lake Superior tallied the next seven points, accentuated by three Dragon errors, to bring the visitors within two sets to one.
"In the third game, we had them at set point and should have shut the door on them. Like last night, it shows what we need to work on. Our girls played a little more timid and weren't being aggressive on the ball at the end of the third set," Cordova said.
The fourth set was a perfect microcosm of the weekend for Tiffin. Lake Superior stormed out to take a 7-3 advantage, but Tiffin went on a 9-2 run to take a 12-9 lead. As the Dragons looked to take control of the set, three TU errors tied the game at 12. But a service error and kills by Brooke Bernabei and McKenzie Wright gave Tiffin the lead for good in the set and match.
The Dragons, in the midst of a five-game home stand, return to action Wednesday when it hosts rival Findlay. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
