TIFFIN, Ohio - Tiffin volleyball continues conference play at the two West Virginia Schools this weekend with Alderson Broaddus on Friday and Ohio Valley on Saturday. The Dragons also face Urbana in a nonconference matchup Tuesday night.
Game Information:
Tiffin Dragons (7-6) at
Urbana Blue Knights (5-7)
Tuesday, Oct. 1 | 6:00 p.m.
Urbana, Ohio | Grimes Center
Video | Live Stats
Tiffin Dragons (7-6, 2-0 GMAC) at
Alderson Broaddus Battlers (6-8, 0-2 GMAC)
Friday, Oct. 4 | 7:00 p.m.
Philippi, W.Va. | Rex Pyles Arena
Video | Live Stats
Tiffin Dragons (7-6, 2-0 GMAC) at
Ohio Valley Fighting Scots (3-5, 0-2 GMAC)
Saturday, Oct. 5 | 1:00 p.m.
Vienna, W.Va. | Snyder Activity Center
Dragon Details:
With wins at Lake Erie and Ursuline last weekend, Tiffin was one of four GMAC schools to open conference play 2-0 along with Hillsdale, Findlay, and Cedarville. Since joining the conference at the beginning of the 2018 season, the Dragons are 17-4 against Great Midwest competition during the regular season.
Tiffin enters the week second in the conference in digs (17.79 per set), third in both kills (13.21 per set) and assists (11.94 per set), and fourth in hitting percentage (.213). They have also allowed just .94 aces per set to opponents, the second-lowest mark in the GMAC.
Jenna Huffman leads the team and the conference at 4.85 kills per set and 5.39 points per set, while also ranking first on the Dragons in blocks (35) and second in digs per set (3.15). After the wins over Lake Erie and Ursuline last week, the senior was named the GMAC Offensive Player of the Week.
Huffman is joined on the front line by sophomore Kyndall Hellyer (2.34 k/s, 13 aces) and junior Grace Schreiber (1.98 k/s, 30 blocks). Sam Fallis is third in the GMAC with 4.80 digs per set, and also leads the Dragons with 16 aces on the year. Loryn Huffman continues to be a constant at the setter position, leading the team and slotting in fourth in the conference at 9.79 assists per set.
Scouting the Blue Knights:
Urbana had a rough start to the year, losing four of their first five games and going 3-7 in their nonconference slate. However, they opened Mountain East Conference action last weekend with a pair of home sweeps over Frostburg State and Fairmont State. The Blue Knights and Dragons have had two common opponents this season, both defeating Ursuline while Urbana fell 3-2 to a Lake Erie squad that Tiffin swept on the road.
Since Urbana and Tiffin joined Division II, the teams have met six times, with the Dragons holding a 5-1 advantage. The last matchup came on Oct. 24, 2017, when Tiffin visited Urbana and came away with a 3-1 win. Jenna Huffman, Loryn Huffman, and Grace Schreiber all saw significant time for the Dragons, with Jenna recording eight kills, 16 digs, and five blocks, Loryn tallying 18 assists and six digs, and Schreiber posting nine kills and four blocks.
Hannah Delor leads the Blue Knights with 3.46 kills per set and 22 aces, and is second on the team with 3.12 digs per set. Maggie Burns (2.68 k/s) and Lexi Reinert (2.16 k/s) join Delor to form the Urbana attack. Anna Davis gets them the ball, averaging 8.08 assists per set on the year.
On defense, Courtney Niesen leads the team with 5.68 digs per set. Kaitlin Trace (34 blocks) and Natalie Perez (33 blocks) lead the defense at the net.
Scouting the Battlers:
Alderson Broaddus has had an interesting start to 2019, dropping their first four games before winning their next four. They enter the week at 0-2 in the conference after receiving the tall task of opening GMAC play at conference powerhouses Hillsdale and Findlay last weekend. The Battlers will also host Glenville State in a nonconference match Tuesday night before facing Tiffin on Friday.
Tiffin and AB have faced each other four times, with the Dragons holding a 3-1 advantage in the series. The Dragons opened conference play last season with a sweep of the Battlers at home, as Jenna Huffman tallied 12 kills, 10 digs, and a .526 hitting percentage.
Ashlyn McDonald is tops on the Battlers and sixth in the GMAC with 3.69 kills per set, followed by Kelsey Singhas at 2.76 kills per set. Lainey McGonigle leads the team and is fifth in the conference with 18 aces on the year.
Anna Schmidt anchors the back line at 4.27 digs per set (5th in GMAC), while three Battlers have recorded at least 20 blocks on the season in Kiley Sparks (29), Hannah Johnson (23), and Breanna Swank (22).
Scouting the Fighting Scots:
Ohio Valley enters the week at 3-5 on the year and 0-2 in GMAC play, also losing to Hillsdale and Findlay to open conference action. The Fighting Scots were able to take a set from Findlay, though, keeping the scores close throughout. Before taking on the Dragons on Saturday, OVU will face Kentucky State and Salem tonight as well as Cedarville on Friday.
Last season was the first time that Ohio Valley and Tiffin have played in volleyball, with the Dragons earning a sweep on the road. TU held OVU to set scores of 12, 20, and 17 in the victory, hitting .268 as a team compared to Ohio Valley's .060.
Despite their record, the Fighting Scots figure near the top of a few GMAC categories as a team, ranking first with a .271 hitting percentage, second with 2.07 blocks per set, and third with 2.07 aces per set.
Ohio Valley has the sixth and seventh-ranked players in the GMAC in terms of hitting percentage, with Yolaine Mosquera Lopez at .340 and Jessica Rafay at .332. Rafay leads the team with 3.00 kills per set, while Lopez is third at 2.74. Alyssa DeSplinter (5.83 a/s) and Julia King (4.41 a/s) share setting duties.
Kalyn Makimoto leads the team and is second in the conference with 5.68 digs per set. Rafay, Maria Cordoba, and Charlotte Ansel have all recorded between 20-24 blocks thus far.