Box Score
ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Ashland University volleyball team lost a heart-breaking, four-set match in the semifinals of the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament Friday night (Dec. 6) against the Grand Valley State Lakers. The Lakers, the tournament host and top seed, defeated the Eagles, 20-25, 33-31, 25-14, 26-24.
The loss ends Ashland's season. The Eagles end the year with a record of 26-8. The Lakers advance to the NCAA regional finals against Ferris State with a record of 31-3. Ferris State is the second seed in this tournament. AU was the fourth seed.
"If you throw out the third set I thought we did really well," said AU head coach Cass Dixon. "We fought, we executed, stuck to the game plan. In the third set we got caught watching and we can't do that."
AU was led by freshman Alli Cudworth, who had 19 kills. Freshman Casey Clark had double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore Samantha Zuber tallied 11 kills. Shelly DeHenning had a match-high 50 assists.
In the first set, the Eagles were the first to get on the board as they scored the first two points. A Cudworth kill made the score 1-0 and an ace by Clark gave AU a 2-0 lead. The Eagles and Lakers went back and forth, the score was tied at 5-5, 7-7, and 8-8 before GVSU started to take the lead .
Grand Valley led 12-10 before Kate Eckels had two big digs, one that set up Maureen Johnson for the kill that cut the lead to one. AU tied the game at 12-12 thanks to a well-timed block assist by Baley Bernthisel and Zuber.
The score was 15-13 in favor of the Eagles after Eckles dug a ball that went right back over the net for a kill. Cudworth kept Ashland's two-point lead with powerful attack that ended up in the back corner of Grand Valley's defense. Late in the set ,Eckels chased down a long ball that was sent back for the GVSU attack which Bernthisel and Johnson stopped to make the score 23-19. The set ended on a kill by Clark.
"After the first set I thought, 'Let's keep doing what we're doing,' because what we're doing was working," Dixon said.
The Eagles trailed, 5-1 at the beginning of the second set, but rallied back to get within one of Grand Valley at 6-5. The Lakers won three consecutive points to lead AU, 9-6. Grand Valley went up 16-11, but AU scored the next three points, which cut the GVSU lead to two at 16-14.
Zuber smacked down a hard attack that cut the score down to 18-15 in favor of the Lakers. DeHenning made the score 20-18 after sneaking a set over the net for an attack. After a monstrous slam by Clark the score was 23-22, advantage Lakers.
An ace by Marci Zegarac tied the set at 23-23. The Eagles and Lakers were tied in the set eight times after that. Ashland went up 24-23 after a kill by Clark and again at 25-24 after Grand Valley's Nicayla Joyce could not handle Clark's attack. The Lakers were ahead 28-27 when Johnson scored off a pass from DeHenning to make the score 28-28. A kill by Cudworth tied the game again at 31-31, but the Lakers won the next two points and ended the set with a 33-31 victory.
Grand Valley controlled the tempo of the third set from the start. The Lakers took an early 5-1 lead and continued to hold the advantage throughout the set. Ashland got within one point at both 5-4, and 7-6, but GVSU quickly regrouped. The Lakers led by nine, 17-8 and extended their lead to 11 as they went up 21-10. Grand Valley kept its 11-point lead and won the third set, 25-14. GVSU held AU to a .114 hitting percentage in the third set.
In the fourth set, the teams battled back and forth. Neither team took a more than a three-point lead in the early going. GVSU had the lead until DeHenning scored to tie the set at 9-9. Ashland took the lead at 10-9 after Grand Valley's Abby Aiken committed an attack error. AU took a three-point advantage thanks to a kill by Cudworth. The Eagles continued to lead in the fourth set until the Lakers tied the set at 18-18. A long serve by GVSU's Joyce tied the set at 19-19. The teams were even again at 24-24, but the Lakers scored the next two points and won the set and the match.
"Credit Deanna (GVSU coach Scanlon) and Grand Valley," said Dixon. "They're strong year in and year out. They do a good job of putting the ball back on your side and they make you make the errors."
Kaleigh Lound, who had 15 kills, led the Lakers. She tallied four block solos and four block assists.
As a team the Eagles hit .194 from the floor. AU tallied 62 kills on 175 attempts. Ashland recorded eight service aces, 82 digs, 58 assists, and seven blocks.
This is the second consecutive year the Eagles have reached the regional semifinals. This year's team started two true freshmen, a redshirt freshman and a sophomore.
"In the future we have to keep building," said Dixon. "We have a lot of young players who gained a lot of experience this year. We need to take this experience and build on it though. Each year we've been here we've gotten better, but we're on that road to still get better."
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