TIFFIN, Ohio - Tiffin volleyball welcomed Ashland to town in nonconference action on Tuesday night, defeating the Eagles in four sets 3-1 (25-16, 25-17, 22-25, 25-23).
The Dragons improve to 14-11 on the year, while Ashland, who is receiving votes in the national poll, falls to 22-5 on the season.
Tiffin hit well as a team, recording a .239 attack percentage compared to .167 for Ashland. TU's first set went exceptionally well, as the Dragons hit .400 with 17 kills and just three errors.
Set one didn't start in Tiffin's favor, though, as Ashland jumped out to a 14-8 lead. However, the Dragons came alive in a big way after that, going on a 17-2 run over the remainder of the set to win 25-16. Jenna Huffman had 11 kills in the first set alone as TU took a 1-0 lead.
Set two was all Dragons from the beginning, as Tiffin led by as many as nine before taking the 25-17 win. Early on in the third frame, TU appeared to be on their way to a sweep with a 15-8 lead. The Eagles were able to storm back, though, tying things up at 18 before winning the set 25-22.
Tiffin snatched the momentum right back, however, taking a 20-13 lead in set four with just five points remaining to take the match. Ashland made it interesting, scoring 10 of the next 13 points to even the set at 23, but a huge kill by Jenna Huffman and an ace from Sam Fallis ended the set and gave Tiffin the 3-1 win.
Huffman led all players with 26 kills on the night and added 13 digs. Sam Fallis led Tiffin's back line with 18 digs and three aces, while Morgan White chipped in 16 digs as well.
Loryn Huffman dished out 54 assists on the night to go over 2,000 in her career, while Alicia Kessler added a season-high 14 kills along with four blocks.
Tiffin resumes GMAC play on Thursday and Friday with a pair of big contests against Kentucky Wesleyan and Trevecca Nazarene. The Dragons are currently third in the conference standings, while the Panthers are fifth and the Trojans sixth, so the weekend could have major implications on postseason seeding.