Ashland University's new-look and young volleyball team began the 2024 season on Friday (Sept. 6) in its own Invitational at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium, going 1-1 on the day.
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The Eagles took a 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-18) decision from D'Youville on Friday afternoon, then took No. RV Nova Southeastern to four sets before falling 3-1 (25-19, 25-15, 17-25, 25-16).
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Ashland's Friday victory was highlighted by a .402 hitting percentage. Senior right-side hitter
GraceAnn Hartman finished with 10 kills and hit .474, while freshman outside hitter
Sara Krizsa had a match-high 11 kills.
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Sophomore setter
Kylee Urban not only had 30 assists in the opener, but was 7-for-7 on dump kills.
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The match vs. the Sharks saw freshman outside hitter
Samantha Young compile 14 kills and 10 digs, while Hartman ended with 11 kills. Urban came up with 32 more assists and five more kills.
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…AND THE REST OF THE STORY
- Defensively vs. D'Youville, sophomore libero Abbey Queen led the back with 11 digs. Queen also paced the Eagles vs. Nova Southeastern with 15 digs.
- In the D'Youville match, there was one tie score and no lead changes. By contrast, the Nova Southeastern match saw 20 tie scores and seven lead changes.
- Ashland started all sophomores and freshmen in the opener vs. the Saints.
UP NEXT
Day 2 of the Ashland University Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 7), with the Eagles facing East Stroudsburg at 2 p.m. and West Liberty at 6 p.m..
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