TIFFIN, Ohio – The Tiffin University volleyball team battled back after going down 2-1 as they would dominate the decisive fifth frame to secure a 3-2 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) victory over Walsh on Friday evening inside the Gillmor Student Center. Tiffin improved to 4-5 in conference play with set scores of 16-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-15, and 15-5.
After struggling to find its rhythm in the opening set, Tiffin quickly regrouped in the second. The Dragons used a 5-1 run midway through the frame to erase an early deficit and later received consecutive kills from
Katelyn Owens and
Symari Scott to build separation. Walsh cut the lead to one late, but an Owens kill and two opponent attacking errors allowed the 'Gons to take it, 25-21.
The third set saw Tiffin trail by as many as six points before rallying behind strong play from
Brianna Langenderfer and Owens to pull within one at 24-23. The Cavaliers, however, managed to convert their final opportunity to escape with the set and reclaim a 2-1 match lead.
Facing a must-win fourth set, the Dragons responded with arguably their most complete performance of the night. Tiffin broke open a 12-5 lead following a
Brookelyn Schmidt kill and a service ace from
Kensie Butler. They would see another Butler ace that was sandwiched between kills from
Kennedi Culp and Scott that made it 22-12. The Dragons continued to apply pressure throughout the set, holding Walsh to just eight kills while cruising to a convincing 25-15 victory to force a decisive fifth set.
The momentum carried directly into the winner-take-all frame. Barber served the Dragons to seven-straight points to open the set as Tiffin capitalized scoring the initial point from a
Katelyn Owens kill. They would close it out with kills from
Kennedi Culp,
Brianna Langenderfer and
Kensie Butler delivered the match-clinching ace to secure the five-set victory.
Tiffin's balanced attack featured four players with eight or more kills.
Katelyn Owens paced the offense with a match-high 14 kills and she surpassed 500 career kills during Friday evening's match.
Symari Scott added 10 kills,
Kennedi Culp recorded nine kills, and
Brianna Langenderfer chipped in eight kills.
Maggie Pavlansky directed the offense with 27 assists, while
Kat Akolzin added 17 assists. Defensively,
Morgan Morley contributed 19 digs.
Lexi Barber added 16 digs to go along with four service aces.
The Dragons return to action Saturday as they continue conference play at the Gillmor Student Center hosting a Senior Day matchup at 2 p.m. against Malone University.
