HILLSDALE, Mich. – After officially punching their ticket into the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship tournament following last weekend's results, the Tiffin University volleyball team returned to action on Friday evening in a road match at Hillsdale. The Chargers would earn the sweep taking the matchup 25-20, 25-21, 25-22.
The teams traded points early in the opening set before Grace Drake sparked a two-point Hillsdale run with a service ace, helping the Chargers build a 10-6 advantage. Tiffin battled back and pulled within one at 17-16 after winning three of four points, capped by a
Maggie Pavlansky dump over kill. However, Hillsdale regained control down the stretch, using a Taylor Cook kill to reach set point at 24-19 before securing the 25-19 win following a Dragon attacking error. The Dragons finished with 13 kills within the set hitting at a .258 clip.
Hillsdale and Tiffin battled through a tightly contested start to the second set, with the Dragons taking a 14-12 lead following a
Brookelyn Schmidt kill and a
Lexi Barber service ace. The Chargers responded with a 6-2 run to reclaim the advantage at 18-16, forcing Tiffin to regroup. Out of the timeout, strong net play from
Katelyn Owens and
Parker Vackert helped the Dragons pull even at 20-20, but Hillsdale closed the set on a 5-1 run to secure a 25-21 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
The Chargers carried their momentum into the third set, racing out to a 14-8 lead and forcing an early Tiffin timeout. The Dragons responded immediately out of the break, as back-to-back kills from
Katelyn Owens and
Parker Vackert ignited a 5-0 run that trimmed the deficit to 14-13 and prompted Hillsdale to use a timeout of its own. Hillsdale answered with a 5-0 run of its own to push its lead back to 21-16, but the 'Gons refused to go away quietly. A
Morgan Morley service ace helped Tiffin cut the deficit to three at 21-18, and back-to-back kills from
Parker Vackert later trimmed the margin to 23-21, forcing the Chargers to use their final timeout of the set. The Chargers scored the final two points to complete the sweep and take the set 25-22.
Katelyn Owens would lead all hitters putting down a match-best 15 kills.
Amber Czerniak would chip in seven along with three blocks.
Maggie Pavlansky put togehter a double-double finishing with 31 assists and 12 digs.
Next up, the Dragons will conclude the regular season at Northwood University on Saturday at 1 p.m.
