VIENNA, W.Va. - Another game, another 3-0 sweep for Tiffin University volleyball. With Saturday afternoon's 25-12, 25-20, 25-17 victory over Ohio Valley, the Dragons earned their eighth sweep of the season and won their 11th consecutive match to improve to 13-3 overall and 8-0 in the G-MAC.
The 11-game winning streak ties the program record for consecutive wins in a row, equaling the mark set by the 1991 squad. Tiffin is also off to their best start in Division II history through 16 games (13-3), which is also tied with that 1991 team, who went on to begin their season 21-3.
Kyley Keene had an incredible overall match for the Dragons, hitting .414 and recording 15 kills, 20 digs, and two block assists in the win. Jenna Huffman also continued her dominating stretch, hitting above .450 for the third game in a row (.474) with nine kills, seven digs, and five total blocks. During this weekend's action, Huffman also passed Katie Luker '09 for seventh-place in program history with a new mark of 339 total blocks in her career. As a team, Tiffin outhit Ohio Valley .268 to .060 in the victory, recording 14 more kills (42-28) and blocks (18-4) than the Scots.
Tiffin controlled the match from the start, leading 7-4 before five unanswered points made it 12-4. The Dragons held leads of 19-8 and 24-11 before all was said and done, as a Brooke Berrington kill secured the victory in set one, 25-12.
After the Dragons opened set two with three-straight points, Ohio Valley showed some signs of life for a stretch, tying the game at three before taking a 5-4 lead. The Scots' lead grew to 9-7, but three straight Tiffin points, including a Sydney Gilland kill, put the advantage back in favor of the Dragons. TU led throughout the remainder of the set, but Ohio Valley stayed close, cutting the deficit to 22-19 before kills from Keene and Jenna Huffman and a Scot error gave Tiffin the 25-20 win.
In set three, OVU came out with a renewed energy after staying close in the second set, as the Scots scored the first three points and led 7-4 in the early going. Ohio Valley still held the lead a few points later at 10-9, but a 6-2 Dragon run put the momentum and the lead back in Tiffin's favor. The Scots rallied back, however, knotting the score up at 15 on a Dragon error, but Tiffin proceeded to close out the set on a 10-2 run to take a 25-17 victory and win the match.
The Dragons will get a few days off early next week before they face a huge test next weekend. On Friday, they host the University of Findlay at 7:00 p.m., who currently sits in third in the West Division of the G-MAC at 6-1 in the conference and 10-3 overall. The Oilers are just behind Tiffin and fellow conference unbeaten Hillsdale in the league standings, who the Dragons will then travel to on Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. start.