The Ashland University volleyball team came away with two more wins on Saturday (Sept. 7) to sweep the weekend at its own invitational at Kates Gymnasium.
The Eagles came back from two sets down to beat Fairmont State in the afternoon before rolling to a four-set win over Bloomsburg in the finale. Ashland is 4-0 for the second straight season.
"Any time you get four wins, responding down 2-0 to win in five, I'm pretty happy," said second-year head coach Kevin Foeman. "The culture they have, they play every point like it's a championship point. That's a big thing that we have. We lost some key players, but I think the players filling in are hungry.
"It was good to see that against other teams this weekend. I really liked the energy off the court and the energy and confidence they showcased whether we were down or up. That was the biggest thing I saw this weekend."
Ashland def. Fairmont State (17-25, 23-25, 25-14, 25-20, 15-12)
The Eagles rallied from a two-set deficit to pull out a five-set victory over Fairmont State in their first match on Saturday.
Ashland struggled getting into the match as the Falcons (1-2) hit .583 in the first set before the visitors gutted out a narrow victory in the second.
Things turned quickly in the third set as the Eagles trailed 10-9 before going on a 16-4 run to close the set. In the fourth set, the Eagles turned a 14-14 tie into a commanding 19-14 lead with sophomore Sophie Dahn serving two aces during the run.
In the fifth, the Eagles never trailed and pulled away with sophomore Zoey Peck serving as they turned a 9-8 lead into a 14-9 advantage.
Sophomore Erin Krupar had the decisive kill to give the Eagles the win.
She racked up a career-high 22 kills (.347) in the match. Junior Brooke Peiffer added 15 kills (.286) and 10 digs one night after a career-high 19 kills. Senior Sophi Cudworth was the third Eagle in double figures with 13.
Peck had a double-double with 51 assists and 11 digs and junior McKinley Smith led the back row with 24 digs.
Ashland def. Bloomsburg (25-15, 25-10, 22-25, 25-16)
The Eagles were dominant in the opening two sets, holding Bloomsburg (1-3) to negative hitting percentages in both frames. Peiffer tallied six kills in the first set alone and finished with 14 in the match.
The Huskies rallied for a win in Set 3 as both teams hit over .400
Ashland put the match away in the fourth set, using a 7-0 serving run by junior Lexi Lombardo to take a 14-7 lead.
A kill by freshman Anna Krikke ended the weekend for the Eagles, who also won all four matches at their invitational last season.
Cudworth led the Eagles with 16 kills (.324) against the Huskies. Krupar had 10 kills (.286).
Four players had at least 15 digs, including Peiffer, Dahn, Smith and Peck.
The Eagles out-hit the Huskies, .298 to .115.
The Eagles will now head to Hillsdale, Mich. for four matches in three days at Hillsdale College. Ashland will play the host at 6 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 12) before contests against Palm Beach Atlantic, Clarion and Findlay over the following two days.
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