In a G-MAC volleyball north division matchup, the Tiffin University volleyball team (9-7, 4-4 G-MAC) dropped the first two sets to #25 Hillsdale before rallying back to earn the upset victory in five sets (7-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 15-12).
The Chargers got off to a fast start, scoring the first six points and nine of the first 11 en route to a dominating first set. Hillsdale finished the first set with a whopping .579 hitting percentage and would later win 12 straight points to take a 22-5 lead before ending the set with a kill and service ace.
A kill by Josie Reinhart put the Dragons on top 4-3 in set two before the Chargers scored the next five to take an 8-4 lead. TU was forced to play from behind the rest of the way and got back to within two twice later in the set. Trailing 24-20, TU got kills by Katelyn Owens and Addison Conti to make it 24-23. The Chargers, however, answered the bell and won the next point on a kill to take a two-set lead.
Set three is when the tide started to change for the Dragons. After dropping the first two points of the set, TU won the next three to take the lead and would lead the rest of the way. Hillsdale kept it close and tied it at 15 and the Dragons responded with kills by Owens and Taylor Peterson to take a 20-15 lead. TU took advantage of errors by the Chargers to take set three. Hillsdale committed nine attack errors in the set while the Dragons committed zero attack errors.
TU kept it rolling in the fourth set and won six of seven to take a 9-5 lead. Hillsdale cut the deficit to 13-11 but they wouldn't get any closer. TU won seven of the final nine points in the set fueled by kills by both Olivia Karhoff and Kenedi Goon while Kaylee Freund added two solo blocks.
After dropping the opening point of set five, the Dragons won the next four to take a 4-1 lead. Reinhart had two kills during the stretch while Karhoff added a kill and service ace. The Dragons kept Hillsdale at bay and led 9-4 following back-to-back kills from Karhoff. The Chargers didn't go down without a fight and cut TU's lead to 13-12 but the Dragons won the final two points of the match and clinched the match on a kill by Reinhart.
Reinhart led the way offensively with 13 kills and Karhoff added 12 kills. Addison Conti recorded a team-high 27 assists and Maggie Pavlansky added 20 assists. Diana Heitkamp led the way defensively by recording a career-high 32 digs. Peterson and Freund each had two solo blocks.
As a team, the Dragons finished with a season-high 88 digs. Following a tough opening set, the Dragons responded and finished with a better hitting percentage, .243 compared to Hillsdale's .224.
The Dragons will return to and finish nonconference play next weekend for four matches at the Midwest Crossover in Hammond, Ind. Opponents and game times are still to be determined.
