It's been a theme in the early part of the 2026 season for Ashland University's volleyball team – win, and win quickly.
 
On Tuesday (Sept. 15) night at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium, the Eagles won for the fifth time in a row, topping Great Midwest Athletic Conference foe Tiffin, 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-21).
 
"It's been really fun," said Ashland head coach Alicia Wood. "Our last three home games, I've challenged them. Teams are just hungry to win because it's conference.
 
"It was a fun game. It's been good to be challenged by teams who just remind us of how tough conference is."
 
Ashland's five straight victories all have been by 3-0 counts, and the Eagles (8-1 overall, 3-0 Great Midwest) now have seven sweeps so far in 2026 – after having eight in all of 2025. AU's nine-match start is the program's best in 14 years (also 8-1 in 2012).
 
The Dragons are 0-10, 0-2.
 
With a match-high 18 digs on Tuesday, senior libero Abbey Queen now has 1,222 as an Eagle – moving her into seventh place on the program's all-time list.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Jenna Shedden, already a two-time G-MAC East Division Athlete of the Week this season, paced the AU offense on Tuesday with 12 kills. The senior setter combo of Kylee Urban (19 assists) and Marin Dixon (12) combined for 31 helpers in the victory.
 
Junior middle blocker Myia Etzler chipped in with eight kills, a .400 hitting percentage and four block assists.
 
"Myia's just more aggressive this year, and we love it," Wood said. "She's hungry for the ball, she wants the ball. She bounces back from one mistake really quickly. She's in a very confident state, and we just need her to keep it there."
 
Tuesday night's win was the Eagles' fifth in a row over the Dragons.
 
Ashland's first road Great Midwest match of 2026 – and the Eagles' second of four matches for the week – will be Friday (Sept. 18) at 7 p.m. at Northwood.