ASHLAND, Ohio – The Ashland volleyball team rallied to send its match at Ferris State to a fifth set, but the Bulldogs came up with a 3-2 (27-29, 25-21, 25-23, 27-29, 15-9) win on Friday (Oct. 8) night at Ewigleben Arena.
The match was close throughout as two sets played to 29-27 finals (both won by Ashland) in a match that lasted a season-high two hours, nine minutes.
The Eagles (10-6, 5-5 GLIAC) claimed the win in the first set, despite falling behind, 21-17. AU came up big from there, working the set to a 24-24 tie. The Eagles twice fought off Ferris State set points at 25-24 and 27-26. Freshman Kate Eckels (Loveland, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame) and sophomore Brittany Snider (Olmsted Falls, Ohio) came up with kills at that point and then the Eagles forced Ferris State's Danielle Hamilton into an attack error to clinch the set win.
The Eagles marched to a 3-0 lead in the second set, but the Bulldogs scored four straight to take a 4-3 lead. The Eagles took advantage of a pair of Bulldog errors to regain the lead, but did not hold a lead in the second set after that.
The Eagles dropped the third set, which featured 15 ties and five lead changes, 25-23. The fourth set was much the same as the fourth, except that Ashland came out on top. Neither team led by more than two points in the set. AU twice had to turn away set points at 24-23 and 25-24, but Snider came up with a kill in each situation. Two errors by the Bulldogs closed the set.
The Bulldogs (9-6, 6-5 GLIAC) never trailed in the fifth set as they went on to win, 15-9. The Eagles had the set tied, 3-3, but Ferris State reeled off four straight points and six of the next seven to take control.
Snider led the Eagles with 29 kills in 93 attacks, while junior Anesia Benton (Lima, Ohio/Senior) finished with 10. Senior Sophie Paddock (Girard, Ohio/Hubbard) was the most efficient offensive player for Ashland, coming up with seven kills in 13 attacks with no errors. She also had four total blocks (two solo, two assisted).
Junior libero Arian Martin (Independence, Ohio) finished with a match-high 27 digs and senior Lauren Schweitzer (Dublin, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) added 11.
The Eagles hit .163 as a team in the match, while the Bulldogs hit .194. Each team had seven total blocks.
Arielle Goodson led the Bulldog offensive attack with 26 kills, while two others (Ashley Huntey and Anne Sutton) also finished in double figures.
The Eagles will finish their weekend trip on Saturday (Oct. 9) afternoon with a 4 p.m. start at Saginaw Valley State.
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