Eagle Volleyball Sweeps Pioneers At Home, Off To 8-2 Start To 2025

In its third match in five days, Ashland University's volleyball team remained undefeated in early-season Great Midwest Athletic Conference play thanks to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-21) win over Malone at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium.
 
The Eagles are 8-2 overall and 3-0 in the Great Midwest, and the 10-match overall start is their best since 2019 (also 8-2). The Pioneers are 2-8, 1-1.
 
"We just talked in the locker room about resilience," said Ashland head coach Katie Kuhn, "and overcoming adversity. And just how focused they were tonight, I was just so proud of them. It's just so fun to be at home, but they overcame a lot of adversity."
 
Ashland has won four matches in a row overall, and Tuesday's victory was the Eagles' fifth sweep of the young campaign.
 
Tuesday's hitting percentage of .327 was AU's best in a match so far in 2025, and the Pioneers' .063 hitting percentage was the Eagles' second-best defensive effort this fall.
 
"We just did a really good job of taking care of the ball on our side," Kuhn noted. "We were in system a lot of the time. We also did an excellent job of blocking (one block solo, eight assists). If we weren't blocking the ball, we were channeling the ball to our defenders.
 
"We were dictating both sides."
 
ALL-AROUND TEAM WIN

• Junior setter Marin Dixon turned in another strong all-around match on Tuesday with 40 assists and 11 digs.
• Sophomore outside hitter Sara Krizsa led all players with a dozen kills, and on defense, junior libero Abbey Queen racked up 25 digs in just three sets.

NEXT UP
Ashland will start a four-match Great Midwest road trip on Friday (Sept. 26) at 7 p.m. at Tiffin (2-5, 0-1).
 
"It's fun to continue to be in the G-MAC," Kuhn said. "We're going to have to be road warriors for the next couple weeks, and embrace it."