The Ashland University volleyball team won in a sweep over Ohio Valley on Saturday (Sept. 1) afternoon at the Findlay Classic, but the Eagles suffered their first defeat of the season in the nightcap, falling in five-set fashion in the nightcap to host Findlay.
Redshirt-junior middle Michaela Ping and freshman setter Zoey Peck were selected to the all-tournament team for their performances on the weekend.
The Eagles (7-1) will now travel to Urbana on Tuesday (Sept. 4) for a nonconference match before starting GLIAC play on Friday (Sept. 7) against Davenport at Kates Gymnasium.
Ashland def. Ohio Valley, 25-19, 25-17, 25-16
The Eagles hit .337 in the match against the Fighting Scots (2-3) as they dominated from start to finish.
Ashland hit .457 in the first set with 17 kills against just one error. Set 2 was closely contested early with the teams tied at 15-15, but the Eagles reeled off 10 of the last 12 points, including a 6-0 run with sophomore Zoie Franklin on the serve. Junior Sophi Cudworth finished the set with a kill.
AU scored the first six points of the third set with Peck serving. Ping had three kills in that stretch and six in the frame. Ashland held OVU to just .027 hitting in the final set.
Freshman Erin Krupar led the Eagles with 15 kills (.294) and 12 digs. Ping and Cudworth had eight kills each and Peck dished out 34 assists.
Yolaine Lopez led the Fighting Scots with eight kills and Kalyn Makimoto had a team-high nine digs.
No. 24 Findlay def. Ashland, 24-26, 21-25, 25-16, 25-22, 15-7
The nightcap was the first five-set match of the season for the Eagles, who won the first two sets of the match before the nationally-ranked Oilers won the last three.
In Set 1, the Eagles faced set point, but two UF errors and an ace by sophomore McKinley Smith gave Ashland the win. The Eagles had led the set by a 19-17 count, before the Oilers scored six straight points. Senior Kaitlin Bean got the Eagles back in it with her service and a couple kills by junior Shelby Woycik.
The Eagles hit .359 in the second set on their way to a 2-0 lead over the Oilers. Findlay won the third set by a 25-16 margin and took the fourth, 25-22.
In the decisive fifth set, the Oilers hit .556 to put away the Eagles. Ashland had a 2-1 lead eraly, but the Oilers scored the next four to take a 5-2 lead they would not relinquish.
Woycik (.186) and Cudworth (.400) had 14 kills apiece with Woycik adding 11 digs to her tally. Ping had 13 kills (.357) and five blocks, while Peck had 48 assists and nine digs. Bean and Smith led the back row with 14 digs apiece.
Findlay's Amanda Winner put down 21 kills and Kara Scherger finished with 33 digs.
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