Volleyball Opens Great Midwest Play With Home Sweep Of Storm

It certainly was home sweet home for Ashland University's volleyball team on Friday (Sept. 17), as, in its initial Great Midwest Athletic Conference match, the result was a 3-0 (25-9, 25-8, 25-14) decision over Lake Erie.
 
The Eagles are 2-7 overall and 1-0 in the Great Midwest, while the Storm are 2-7, 0-1. Ashland improves to 33-7 at Kates Gymnasium under head coach Kevin Foeman.
 
Ashland not only is as healthy as it's been through the early part of the 2021 fall campaign, it also is past its stretch of seven consecutive matches against nationally-ranked/receiving votes opponents.
 
"It was exactly what we needed," Foeman said. "It felt good to have our energy on the sidelines, our entire team back at home. It was a perfect formula."
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• The Eagles earned a season-best .371 hitting percentage on Friday night, paced by senior outside hitter Erin Krupar (14 kills, .409 percentage), junior middle blocker Anna Krikke (eight kills, .615 percentage) and senior setter Zoey Peck, who was 6-for-6 on dump kills.
• "When she's (Krupar) feeling good, she's tough to defend," Foeman said. "She was feeling it tonight. I would like her (Peck) to do it more, if I'm being perfectly honest. She's been starting her entire career. She's a heck of a setter."
• Said Peck, "We've gone a while without our home base fans. It was very nice to see everyone on the bench. It was a really big team overall effort. I like to get my hitters more opportunities. It takes the passers and me and the hitters scoring for the other team not to expect it. I should do it more, but I really do like getting my hitters opportunities."
• Peck also finished the night with 33 assists, and both sophomore libero Katie Thompson (16) and junior defensive specialist Stephanie Smith (14) ended with double-digit digs.
• Defensively, the Eagles kept the Storm to a team hitting percentage of minus-.019.

 
UP NEXT
Ashland will stay at home to face another Great Midwest opponent, Ursuline (1-8, 0-1), on Saturday (Sept. 18) at 2 p.m.
 
"They have some good athletes," said Foeman. "I expect to come in hungry and it be a good match."