FINDLAY, Ohio – The Tiffin University volleyball team showed plenty of fight on the road Saturday evening, rallying to take the third set after dropping the opening two, but host Findlay ultimately secured a 3-1 victory inside Croy Physical Education Center. The Oilers won by scores of 25-22, 25-20, 19-25, and 25-20.
After narrowly falling in the opening set, Tiffin was unable to overcome an early deficit in the second as Findlay grabbed a two-set advantage. The Dragons refused to go away, however, turning the momentum in the third frame. Tiffin used a decisive 10-3 run to build a 16-10 lead and never looked back, holding the Oilers to a .077 hitting percentage in the set while earning a 25-19 victory.
The Dragons carried that energy into the fourth set and trimmed a seven-point deficit to just one point at 14-13 following consecutive Findlay attack errors and a kill from
Katelyn Owens. The Oilers answered with a response of their own, scoring six of the next seven points to regain control before closing out the match 25-20.
Owens paced the Tiffin offense with a match-high 15 kills while hitting .379 and adding eight digs.
Parker Vackert also reached double figures with 15 kills, while
Symari Scott contributed 10 kills.
Maggie Pavlansky dished out a team-high 23 assists, while
Kat Akolzin added 18 assists. Defensively,
Morgan Morley led the way with 18 digs, followed by
Lexi Barber who added 13 along with a pair of service aces.
Findlay was led by Lauren Foerster's 13 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, while Hannah Miller recorded an additional 17 kills to go for a double-double with 13 digs. The Oilers finished the match hitting .182 compared to .132 for Tiffin.
The Dragons will look to rebound hosting Northwood University on Friday, October 2 inside the Gillmor Student Center at 7 p.m. followed by a home matchup on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Hillsdale.
