Dragons Hold Off Trojans, Make it Eight-Straight Victories

Dragons Hold Off Trojans, Make it Eight-Straight Victories

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tiffin University women's volleyball team completed a 2-0 road trip with a 3-1 (25-16, 25-16, 22-25, 25-16) victory over Trevecca Nazarene University on Saturday afternoon. The Dragons' win streak is now up to eight games as the team improves to 10-3 overall and 5-0 in the G-MAC.

The Dragons were very efficient on the afternoon, hitting above .300 (.303) throughout the contest for the first time all season. TU was exceptionally accurate in set two, hitting .480 with 14 kills and just two errors.

Amanda Curry paced the Dragons by hitting .378 with 17 kills, five digs, and a pair of service aces. Kyley Keene (13) and Jenna Huffman (11) were also in double figures in kills, while Emily Weithman dished out 22 assists. Loryn Huffman added a double-double with 20 assists and 13 digs, and Grace Schreiber tallied four blocks.

With set one tied at four in the early going, an attack error by the Trojans and back-to-back kills from Grace Schreiber and Kyley Keene jump-started a 7-2 run that put the Dragons up 11-6. Still in front by five (17-12) a few points later, Sydney Gilland racked up back-to-back kills to increase Tiffin's advantage to seven and force a TNU timeout. That margin proved to be more than enough for the Dragons, as a kill from Brooke Berrington and a Trojan error gave Tiffin a 25-16 set one victory.

The momentum stayed on the Dragon side heading into the second set, as Keene starred with two kills and an ace to highlight a 6-1 opening run before Trevecca Nazarene called a timeout. The Dragons kept on rolling, though, scoring six of the next eight points to take a 12-3 lead. After a huge kill and an ace from Jenna Huffman as well as a heads-up kill from Schreiber, the lead increased to 20-10. Kills from Gilland, Keene, and Curry wrapped up the set for the Dragons, as Tiffin took a 25-16 win to go up 2-0 in the match.

Trevecca Nazarene would not go away quietly, however, starting set three on a 4-1 run. It was short-lived, though, as kills from Curry and Keene accompanied by a Trojan ball-handiling error knotted the score at four. The teams would go back-and-forth for a while, as after a Curry kill made it 7-6 in favor of the Trojans, neither squad held a lead of more than a point until a Madison Martin kill put TNU in front 18-16. With a newfound touch of momentum, the Trojans rattled off six more points in a row to cap a 9-0 run and take a 24-16 lead. The Dragons mounted a valiant comeback effort, scoring the next six-straight points, but it was not quite enough as TNU took set three 25-22.

Set four began much the same as set three, with the two teams battling back and forth until a quick 3-0 run by Tiffin put the Dragons up 14-10 and forced the Trojans into a timeout. Curry kept TU rolling by taking matters into her own hands, scoring three of the next four Dragon points with two kills and an ace to put Tiffin up 18-11. The Trojans would commit three-straight errors to close the match, as Tiffin took another 25-16 victory to take the match 3-1.

The Dragons will now return home on Tuesday as they host Walsh University at 7:00 p.m.