Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay volleyball team held its' home opener on Wednesday, Sep. 18 in Croy Gymnasium, hosting the Heidelberg University Student Prince, an NCAA DIII institution located in Tiffin, Ohio, for a non-conference affair. Despite a close first set, the Oilers went on to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-13) victory and improve to 6-2 on the year while Heidelberg falls to 7-7.
Through the first frame, the Student Prince kept the contest tight, holding an 18-16 advantage late in the set. A quick three-point run by the Oilers put the home team in front 19-18. UF would go on to take the first set 25-22, scoring its' final two points on service errors by HU.
After that opening set, the momentum stayed with Findlay which went on to win the final two sets with relative ease, leading by as much as nine in the second and 12 in the third.
Findlay would hit .318 in the match, including a match-high .371 hitting percentage in the second set. Heidelberg came out hot, hitting .333 in the first, but in the third and final set, had a hitting percentage of .000.
Junior Alana Pohlman had a match-high 11 kills while sophomore Hannah Miller, daughter of Heidelberg head coach Jason Miller, had nine kills, two service aces, and four digs. Pohlman hit .419 while senior Kenzie Hoelscher, who finished with nine kills, hit .529.
Freshman Stephanie Smith also had a good night, posting eight kills and picking up one block while freshman Grace Auer had five kills to go along with nine digs.
Helping run the offense was junior Emma White who had 35 assists and nine digs while senior Ava Doster, who was recognized before the match for her 1,000th career dig which she achieved last week, tallied a team-high 11 digs.
The Oilers return to the road for five straight matches, beginning with a trip to Pepper Pike, Ohio for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) battle with Ursuline College on Friday, Sep. 20.
