FINDLAY, Ohio – After nearly taking the second set, a relentless Findlay offense kept the Tiffin University volleyball team from together lengthy runs of its own as the Dragons suffered a season-ending defeat in straight sets to Findlay (25-16, 25-22, 25-11) in the Great Midwest Quarterfinals on Tuesday evening.
The Dragons, seeded seventh in the postseason conference tournament, finished the 2026 campaign with a 7-21 overall record while the University of Findlay will move on to the conference semifinals on Friday, November 13.
Tiffin battled throughout the match and appeared poised to even the contest in the second set, but the Oilers used a late surge to escape before pulling away in the third.
Katelyn Owens paced the Dragons offensively with a team-high 11 kills while hitting .526 and adding three blocks.
Brookelyn Schmidt contributed eight kills on a .389 hitting percentage, while
Parker Vackert added seven kills.
Maggie Pavlansky and
Kat Akolzin directed the offense with 32 combined assists and
Lexi Barber recorded a team-best 15 digs.
The Oilers seized control early in the opening set, jumping out to an 8-1 advantage behind a pair of service aces and forcing an early Tiffin timeout. The Dragons settled in and received four kills from Schmidt in the frame, trimming the deficit to 16-12 after a kill from
Morgan Morley. Findlay responded with a 7-2 run to regain command and closed out the set 25-16 for the early lead.
Tiffin answered with its strongest volleyball of the night in the second set. A kill from Owens and a service ace from
Taylor Kirker helped the Dragons build an early 5-3 lead, and later kills from
Symari Scott,
Brianna Langenderfer and Schmidt kept Tiffin in front through much of the stanza. After trailing 22-18, the Dragons mounted a furious rally. An Owens kill, a service ace from Owens and a Schmidt kill tied the set at 23-all before Vackert delivered another kill to even things at 24-24. Tiffin also erased a 25-24 deficit when Schmidt and Pavlansky combined for a block on Hannah Miller. However, Findlay won two of the final three points, escaping with the 28-26 victory and a two-set advantage.
The Dragons carried that momentum into the third set and raced out to a 3-0 lead behind two Owens kills and a strike from
Amber Czerniak. Tiffin maintained the edge for much of the set and led 15-13 after a Findlay attack error. The Oilers answered with a decisive 7-0 run fueled by two service aces and three kills from Claire Davis to take a 20-15 advantage. Tiffin was unable to recover as Findlay scored five of the final seven points to secure the 25-17 set win and the straight-set match victory.
