The Tiffin University volleyball team went undefeated in the Midwest Region Crossover tournament, beating Parkside yesterday 3-2, then going on to defeat William Jewell 3-2 and McKendree 3-1. The Dragons improve to 11-12 overall and 5-4 in the GMAC. Libero Sam Fallis was also named to the All Crossover Tourney team, averaging 5.07 digs per set in the Dragons' strong tourney showing. She led all players on the floor throughout the weekend with a total of 71 digs.
Match One:
The Cardinals grabbed an early 9-6 lead off a 5-0 run, but the Dragons clawed back to tie the game at 14-14. Then, the Cardinals went on a 4-1 run. However, Tiffin countered with a 7-1 run to lead 22-19. The Dragons outscored William Jewell 3-1 to win the first set 25-21.
It was a close affair in the second set as neither team was able to build up a lead until the Cardinals went on a 4-0 run to lead 13-9. The Dragons chipped away at the lead and tied the game at 17-17, but William Jewell went on a 6-2 rally to take a 23-19 lead and take set two 25-21.
The third set was similar to the second set as the Cardinals built an early 10-6 lead off a 4-0 run. However, William Jewell extended their lead to bring the score to 16-9. The Dragons responded with a 6-1 run to come within two of the Cardinals. The Cardinals strung together a late 6-0 rally to lead 23-15 and take set three 25-17.
The Dragons' offense caught fire in the fourth set as they took a 7-4 lead early in the set and never looked back, going on a 6-1 run to lead 11-5. Tiffin dominated play the rest of the set and took the fourth set 25-12.
In the fifth set the Dragons kept up the pressure taking a 5-1 lead early. However the Cardinals countered with a 5-0 run to lead 6-5. Tiffin was able to regain the lead with a 3-0 run. The Dragons held a three point lead the rest of the way taking the fifth and final set 15-12.
Taylor Peterson led the Dragons recording 16 kills with a .214 hitting percentage, 21 digs, two blocks, and one assist, Josie Reinhart had a day registering 15 kills with a .200 hitting percentage, three digs, and two blocks, and Kenedi Goon had 11 kills with a .212 hitting percentage, two blocks, and one dig. Loryn Huffman tallied 35 assists, 17 digs, and two kills with a .250 hitting percentage and Sam Fallis recording 28 digs, five assists, and one service ace.
Match Two:
McKendree came out hot jumping out to an 8-4 lead, but the Dragons wouldn't go away as they battled back to come within one of the Bearcats at 14-13. The teams were evenly matched at 18-18 but McKendree outscored Tiffin 7-5 to take set one 25-23.
Tiffin fell behind 4-3 early but countered with a 7-1 run to lead 10-5. The Bearcats chipped away at the Dragon lead to come within two of the Dragons at 15-13, but then Tiffin went on a 4-1 run to lead 18-13. The Dragons outscored the Bearcats 5-3 and took the second set 25-20.
McKendree built up an 8-3 lead but the Dragons chipped away at the Bearcat lead and were able to tie the game at 13-13. The Bearcats went on a big 7-2 run to lead 20-15. However Tiffin rallied to outscore McKendree 10-2 to win the third set 25-22.
In the fourth set the two teams were tight with neither getting the edge over the other until the Bearcats went on a 3-0 run. The Dragons clawed back to tie the game at 13-13, and went on a 7-4 run to take a 20-17 lead. Tiffin outscored the Bearcats 5-3 to close out the fourth set 25-20.
Grace Schreiber led the Dragons in points with 17.5 registering 13 kills with a .407 hitting percentage, one solo block, five block assists, one dig, and one service ace and teammate Kenedi Goon tallied 12 kills with a .167 hitting percentage, three digs, and 1.5 blocks. Loryn Huffman recorded 44 assists, 10 digs, five kills, and three service aces and Sam Fallis had 22 digs, five assists, and three service aces.