Dragons Fall in Wild Match to Illinois-Springfield

Photo courtesy of Findlay Athletics
Photo courtesy of Findlay Athletics

FINDLAY, Ohio - For the second-straight night, Tiffin volleyball took a 2-0 lead but could not close out the match as Illinois-Springfield rallied for a wild 3-2 win.

The Dragons earned a close 25-22 win in the first set before taking an easier 25-17 victory in set two. The Prairie Stars bounced back with a 25-16 set three win to stay alive. Sets four and five both went over the normal points required to win, as UIS came out on the plus side of back-and-forth battles both times with 29-27 and 20-18 victories.

Tiffin's attack could not be stopped in the first two frames, hitting .379 as a team in set one before increasing that to .464 in set two with 15 kills and just two errors. 

UIS led most of the way in set three, and looked to be headed to an easy set four win, taking a 22-12 lead. However, the Dragons would go on an incredible rally, scoring the next 11 points in a row with Grace Schreiber serving to take a 23-22 lead. The teams battled back and forth to a 27-27 tie, but UIS earned two consecutive kills after that to take the set.

Down 14-10 in the fifth and deciding set, the Dragons battled back to even things up at 14. TU and UIS would trade points until the score was knotted at 18, where the Prairie Stars were able to register two in a row to take the set and the match.

Jenna Huffman had 21 kills, 15 digs, and four total blocks on the night, while Grace Schreiber added 13 kills and Kyndall Hellyer chipped in 10. Sam Fallis registered 26 digs and Loryn Huffman added 16 digs to go with 47 assists. Freshmen Morgan White (12) and Maddi Rammel (11) were both in double-digits in digs, while Brie Wight earned seven kills and three total blocks.

TU will close out the Tiffin/Findlay Tournament tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 p.m. when they take on Seton Hill in the Gillmor Center.