Dragons Split Pair of Matches at Midwest Region Crossover

Dragons Split Pair of Matches at Midwest Region Crossover

INDIANAPOLIS - Tiffin volleyball made quick work of Grand Valley State in their opening match at the 2018 Midwest Region Classic, sweeping the Lakers 25-20, 25-21, 25-18 on Friday morning. In the nightcap, the Dragons fell victim to a great hitting performance by Michigan Tech and dropped just their sixth match of the season, 3-1.

After today's matches, the Dragons' overall record moves to 17-6 on the year.  

In game one against GVSU, Jenna Huffman hit .448 with 16 kills, eight digs, and five blocks, while Amanda Curry added 10 kills and Kyley Keene registered 13 digs to lead the Dragon effort. As a team, TU hit .249 and held the Lakers to a percentage of .149. 

Tiffin ran out to an early lead in the first set, going up 15-8 after a Jenna Huffman kill and GVSU attack error. That lead would extend to 21-12, and the Dragons withstood a late Laker comeback to take the set 25-20. Set two was much of the same, with a Keene ace and Curry kill giving the Dragons a 19-12 lead. Grand Valley responded with four unanswered points to cut the deficit to three, but TU was once again able to hold the lead and take the set by a score of 25-21.

GVSU came out strong in the third set, grabbing an early lead and still maintaining a 15-14 advantage later in the set. However, Tiffin took the lead back at 19-18, and then proceeded to score the final six points of the match to take the set 25-18 and the match.

As mentioned, the story of game two was the efficiency of Michigan Tech, as the Huskies hit .324 for the match compared to .244 for the Dragons. 

MTU was very strong in the first two sets, leading the majority of the time and holding Tiffin to just 16 and 14 points. 

Tiffin would not go away quietly, though, as the Dragons held their own as after the score was tied at 17, TU ended the set on an 8-2 run to cut Michigan Tech's lead to two sets to one. However, a tightly contested fourth set went the way of the Huskies, 25-22, as they took the match 3-1. 

In game two, Sydney Gilland matched her season-high with 12 kills in the Dragon effort.

Tiffin will look to close out the 2018 Midwest Region Crossover on a high note as they face Truman State tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m.