The Ashland University volleyball team made a Tuesday (Sept. 11) night trip to Detroit and came away with an impressive four-set win over host Wayne State, 25-23, 25-16, 14-25, 25-16.
The Eagles (10-2, 3-0 GLIAC) remained unbeaten in GLIAC play and handed the Warriors (7-4, 2-1 GLIAC) their first conference loss of the season. Ashland is in sole possession of first place in the GLIAC South.
In Set 1, the Eagles overcame a hot start by the Warriors, who led 13-7 early on. The Eagles steadily climbed back in and tied the set at 16 on a kill by senior Reanne Neal.
The set remained tight as neither team led by more than one until a kill by freshman Erin Krupar gave the Eagles a 25-23 win. Ashland had 21 kills in the first set alone and overcame Wayne State hitting .410.
The Eagles' defense locked down in Set 2 as they held the Warriors to a .085 hitting percentage. In Set 3, Ashland fell behind by a 15-6 margin and wasn't able to recover.
In the fourth, the Eagles turned a 4-4 tie into a 13-6 lead with sophomore McKinley Smith and junior Shelby Woycik serving. Woycik had three kills in that stretch and Krupar added two. The Eagles never trailed after that and freshman setter Zoey Peck had the clinching kill to close the match.
Woycik led the Eagles with 21 kills (.255) and 16 digs. Peck (47 assists, 11 digs) and Krupar (17 kills, 11 digs) also had double-doubles, while senior Kaitlin Bean had a match-high 22 digs.
The Eagles out-hit the Warriors, .216 to .193, while Wayne State had an 8-7 advantage in total blocks.
The Eagles will now return to Kates Gymnasium on Friday (Sept. 14) to take on Saginaw Valley State at 7 p.m.
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VB/BB