Eagles Rally To Win Seventh In A Row, Reach Conference Title Match

Ashland University's volleyball team lost the first set on Friday (Nov. 19) night, but didn't come close to losing another.
 
The Eagles earned their seventh consecutive victory, and the right to play in the 2021 fall Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament championship match, following a 3-1 (20-25, 25-12, 25-14, 25-15) win over Ohio Dominican on Friday at Hillsdale.
 
Ashland (18-12) will face the No. 18-ranked Chargers (26-4) on Saturday (Nov. 20) at 2:30 p.m. for the league championship, and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II postseason. Ashland and Hillsdale were the two division winners in the conference this season.
 
The Panthers' season ends at 17-14, with three of those defeats coming against the Eagles.
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• Ashland hit .286 in the match, and the offense was paced by the trio of senior outside hitter Erin Krupar, the conference Player of the Year who finished with 22 kills and hitting .276; senior outside hitter Heidi Fausze, who had 16 kills and hit .325, and senior setter Zoey Peck, who dished out 45 assists.
• Defensively, the Eagles kept the Panthers to a .134 hitting percentage, and racked up 92 digs. Leading that charge were sophomore libero Katie Thompson (28 digs), junior defensive specialist Stephanie Smith (22), Krupar (15) and senior defensive specialist Sophie Dahn (14).
• Smith finished with five of AU's seven service aces, and junior middle blocker Anna Krikke had six of AU's 14 block assists.