LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY VOLLEYBALL PAGE
THE TURNING POINT: After winning the first two sets and losing the next two, Ashland jumped out to a 5-1 lead in set No. 5 en route to the victory.
STAT OF THE DAY: Each of the Eagles' last four matches have gone five sets, with AU winning the last three.
For the third time in five days, Ashland University's volleyball team went the distance for a victory.
On Tuesday (Sept. 27) night, the Eagles improved to 9-5 overall and 3-2 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after a 29-27, 25-20, 18-25, 21-25, 15-11 win at Tiffin (6-6, 1-4). It was Ashland's fourth consecutive five-set match, and its third straight five-set win.
In the first set on Tuesday, the Eagles led 16-11 before the Dragons went on a 13-6 run for a 24-22 advantage. Ashland and Tiffin then played to four tie scores before the Eagles scored back-to-back points to take the match opener.
Ashland led 2-0 in sets before Tiffin rallied to win the next two. Then, in the fifth and final set, the Eagles ran out to leads of 5-1 and 11-5 on the way to the victory.
Senior outside hitter Alli Cudworth posted her fourth consecutive double-double (19 kills, 17 digs), and her fifth straight match with 15 or more digs. Cudworth is 27 kills away from becoming the fourth player in program history with 1,500 in a career.
Freshman outside hitter Shelby Woycik added 14 kills, sophomore outside hitter/right-side hitter Jordan Mackay posted 11 kills and sophomore middle blocker Reanne Neal racked up 10 kills, four service aces, five digs and five total blocks.
Sophomore setter Kayla Pfeiffer had a career-high 54 assists, and both senior libero Casey Clark (22) and junior defensive specialist Melanie Aguayo (21) had 20-plus digs. With 1,208 career digs, Clark is 10 away from tying Marci Zegarac for fourth on AU's all-time list.
UP NEXT: Friday (Sept. 30) at 7 p.m. at Lake Superior State (1-12, 0-5).
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