The Tiffin University volleyball team (11-11, 5-6 G-MAC) celebrated their seniors on Saturday against Malone, recognizing Clare Kwiatkowski, Rylie Roggow, Josie Reinhart, Taylor Peterson, Addison Conti, Ashlyn Jones, Diana Heitkamp, Kenedi Goon, Marissa Sharpe, and Wakaya Wilson.
The Dragons celebrated in winning fashion, taking down Malone in straight sets 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-19).
The Dragons jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set following a kill by Kenedi Goon and never looked back, leading from start to finish. Leading 15-14, TU won the next seven and 10 of the final 11 points of the set. During the stretch, the Dragons got three kills by both Wakaya Wilson and Katelyn Owens, two kills by Taylor Peterson, and a service ace from Maggie Pavlansky.
The second set was more of a back-and-forth which featured 10 ties and seven lead changes. Trailing 14-12, TU took back the momentum by winning the next eight to take a 20-12 lead. Wilson and Owens both recorded kills during the stretch and Owens also added a block. Malone cut the lead in half, but a kill by Peterson and service error by the Pioneers gave the Dragons set two.
Set three was very tight in the beginning also and featured 11 ties and three lead changes. Back-to-back kills by Goon and Peterson gave the Dragons a 5-3 lead and the Pioneers responded with three of the next four to tie it at six. Malone rallied to tie it at 15 and then endured another run by the Dragons. The Dragons won eight of the next 10 to take a 23-17 lead and got four kills during that stretch, with three by Kaylee Freund. Another service error on the final point by Malone ended the match.
Peterson and Owens each recorded 10 kills and Addison Conti led the way in assists with 16 while Clare Kwiatkowski added 13 assists. Diana Heitkamp led the way defensively with 11 digs and Owens finished with three solo blocks.
The Dragons ended the match with a .391 hitting percentage, their second-best of the season and Malone finished with a hitting percentage of .208.
The Dragons return to north division play on Friday, November 8 with a trip up to Michigan to face Hillsdale at 7 p.m.
