Great Defense Sends Dragons Past Walsh 3-0

The Dragons defeated Walsh 3-0 to seal their place in the GMAC Finals.
The Dragons defeated Walsh 3-0 to seal their place in the GMAC Finals.

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The Tiffin University women's volleyball team won 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-18) against Walsh to punch their ticket to the finals of the GMAC tournament. The Dragons will face Hillsdale March 13 at 5 p.m.

The Dragons played a great game starting with the front line as they registered 15 blocks compared to 4.0 for the Cavaliers. The Dragons had 42 kills with a .267 hitting percentage compared to Walsh's 38 kills with a .098 hitting percentage. 

The Dragons jumped out to a 9-4 lead early in the first set then Walsh went on a 3-1 run to start a comeback. A 4-0 run helped the Dragons extend their lead further to 14-7.  

Tiffin kept this lead until the Cavaliers put together a 5-2 run but the Dragons held strong as they closed out the set with a 25-19 win. 

A closer second set as Walsh narrowly led 6-5 early, but the Dragons countered with a 6-0 run to lead 11-6 fueled by three kills from Danielle Sargent

Walsh fought back, putting together a 7-3 run to come within one of the Dragons at 14-13, but the Dragons rallied, putting together a 7-2 run of their own to lead 21-15. The Cavaliers didn't give up, rallying for a 4-1 run that brought the score to 22-19. Tiffin went on to score three straight points to win the second set 25-19. 

Tiffin went up 4-1 in the third set but the Cavaliers clawed back to bring the score to 7-6. Then, the Dragons put together a massive 11-0 run led by Loryn Huffman's killer service to lead 18-6. 

The Cavaliers chipped away at the Dragons' lead, coming within six of Tiffin but the Dragons held off Walsh's late surge to win 25-18. 

Danielle Sargent led the team recording 12.5 points, nine kills with a .500 hitting percentage and seven block assists, followed by Olivia Karhoff with 11 points, 10 kills posting a .233 hitting percentage, two block assists, and seven digs. 

Alicia Kessler tallied 10 points, six kills with a .261 hitting percentage, a team-high eight block assists, and six digs. Teammate Kyley Keene registered 10 points, with nine kills, a .192 hitting percentage, a team-high 15 digs, and two block assists, and Loryn Huffman had six points, four kills, two block assists, nine digs, one service ace, and 31 assists.