There's a lot more to unpack from Sunday (Oct. 29) afternoon's 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-15) win for Ashland University's volleyball team than the garden-variety three-set match.
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The Eagles earned their 20
th win of the 2023 season on Sunday at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium, moving to 20-7 overall and 13-2 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference – and giving them a third consecutive outright South Division championship.
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Ashland now has won at least 20 matches in a season for the 11
th time this century, and for the 25
th time in program history.
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As for the quest for 1,000 all-time wins, the Eagles stand at 999 victories since Ashland volleyball began in 1968.
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The Saints are 4-20, 2-11.
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NOTABLES
- With 16 digs on Sunday, senior libero Katie Thompson moved into second place on the program's all-time list with 1,785. Mary Kate Glowe is Ashland's all-time digs leader with 1,969.
- Junior middle blocker Bailey Ruth recorded nine block assists on Sunday, tied for the third-most in a match in program history and tied for the second-most in program history in a three-set match.
- Leading the offense for AU was junior Makenna Belcher with 15 kills and a .536 hitting percentage, while freshman setter Kylee Urban had 21 assists and freshman outside hitter Henlie Krause added a dozen digs.
- Sunday was Ashland's eighth 3-0 win of the season.
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QUOTABLES
- "A wonderful group of young women who honestly continue to grind and work hard," said Ashland head coach Katie Kuhn. "I've just been really proud of them. They've bought in, and really bought in to one another."
- Of Ruth, Kuhn said, "She's been such a calming and just consistent force for us all season long. It's been neat to see her continue to evolve."
- Of Thompson, Kuhn said, "Not only is her play calming and exciting to watch, but her presence on the court, you can tell…she just has a very calming and mature voice."
- "I think everyone pays attention to their stats," Thompson said, "but that's not very important to me. I'm planning on coming back for my COVID year, so that will be great."
- Said Ruth, "The team has worked really hard, with all the adversity we've been dealt this year. Our pin hitters did a really, really good job of talking to me in the middle and setting up a good block."
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UP NEXT
Ashland will stay at home to take on Kentucky Wesleyan (6-20, 4-11) on Friday (Nov. 3) at 6 p.m.
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