ASHLAND, Ohio – Leaving Kates Gymnasium did nothing to slow down the Ashland University volleyball team as the Eagles swept GLIAC South foe Lake Erie College, 3-0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-19), Thursday (Sept. 30) night at the Jerome T. Osborne Family Athletic & Wellness Center in Painesville, Ohio.
Ashland (9-4, 5-3 GLIAC) was dominant in the first two sets, reeling off at least five straight points four times in that span.
The Storm (3-12, 0-8 GLIAC) offered some resistance in the third set, taking an early 5-2 lead. The Eagles bounced back and led, 14-10, after going on a 12-5 run. Lake Erie scored the next four to tie the set at 14-14. After alternating points several times, the Eagles rallied to score the last six points of the match with freshman Kate Eckels (Loveland, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame) on the serve.
Eckels and junior Anesia Benton (Lima, Ohio/Senior) had 10 kills apiece for Ashland, while sophomore Brittany Snider (Olmsted Falls, Ohio) paced the Eagles with 18 kills in just 30 tries with five errors. The trio combined to hit .469 for the match, with Benton leading the way, hitting .833 (10-for-12 with no errors). She leads the conference in hitting percentage.
Sophomore Crystal Elliott (Canal Winchester, Ohio) had 41 assists on Ashland's 45 total kills.
The Eagles hit .369 as a team, while limiting the Storm to just .062. Snider and Eckels had six digs each to lead the Eagles, while junior Arian Martin (Independence, Ohio) and senior Lauren Schweitzer (Dublin, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) had five each.
AU will hit the road again on Saturday (Oct. 2) morning for a match at NAIA Taylor University. The match is slated to begin at 11 a.m.
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