The Ashland University volleyball team nearly pulled an upset, but No. 6 Ferris State rallied for a 26-28, 25-16, 25-27, 26-24, 15-11 win in five sets on Saturday (Oct. 6) afternoon in Big Rapids, Mich.
The Eagles (16-4, 9-2 GLIAC) had a 2-1 lead after three sets and had a chance to win in the fourth frame, but the Bulldogs (16-3, 11-0 GLIAC) came back from a 24-21 deficit and then went on to win the decisive fifth set.
In the third set, the Eagles fought off multiple set points and finally earned the win after a Ferris State hitting error.
The Eagles took a 24-21 lead in Set 4 after a double block by junior Sophi Cudworth and redshirt-junior Michaela Ping. Ferris State fought off three set points and scored the last five points of the set to force a fifth.
The final frame went back-and-forth and Ashland took a 7-6 lead after a kill by senior Reanne Neal. The Bulldogs scored the next four points to take a 10-7 lead that they would not relinquish, even after AU brought it back to 11-10 on a kill by junior Shelby Woycik.
Cudworth led the Eagles with 21 kills (.319) while Woycik chipped in with 19 kills (.175), 15 digs and three aces. Neal had 13 kills (.333) and seven digs. Freshman Erin Krupar tota.ed 11 kills and a team-high 20 digs.
Freshman Zoey Peck posted a double-double with 55 assists and 14 digs. The Eagles hit .180 for the match.
Katie O'Connell led the Bulldogs with 18 kills while hitting .385. FSU hit .243 as a team.
The Eagles will now head to the Midwest Regional Crossover in Indianapolis, Ind. next Friday and Saturday (Oct. 12-13). Opponents and match times will be announced on the volleyball schedule page at GoAshlandEagles.com.
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