Box Score
LIMA, Ohio - The first match between Davenport and NW Ohio became an instant classic as the Lady Panthers posted an impressive 3-2 win in Lima. Davenport trailed two sets to one but rallied for the 25-23 and 15-13 wins in the final two to improve to 13-6 on the year and 5-1 in the WHAC.
The opening set on Sunday was back and forth with neither team holding more than a three point edge. Two straight hitting errors from DU allowed the Racers to go on top 21-20 but the Lady Panthers hung tough and got three kills from
Kayla Vandermolen (Cedar Springs, Mich.),
Brittany Bott (Hudsonville, Mich.) and
Nicole Chase (Caledonia, Mich.) to go along with two UNOH error's to compete the 25-23 comeback win.
Sets two and three were ones to forget from the Davenport standpoint as the host Racers dominated and took advantage of a very sloppy Panther offense. DU hit negative in both sets (.065 and -.036) as UNOH won by the scores of 25-19 and 25-13.
With their backs to the wall, Davenport came out firing on all cylinders in the fourth set as they posted 13 kills on just 27 attempts. UNOH was just as impressive as they finished with 17 kills but DU held on to an early lead for the 25-23 win to force the deciding fifth set.
Set five was just as exciting as the first and fourth with neither team able to build any kind of cushion. After falling behind 2-1 early, Davenport ran off three straight as UNOH committed three errors during the run. DU would hold onto the lead until the Racers scored three unanswered of their own to lead 10-8. DU kept battling though and got big kills down the stretch from
Kayla Vandermolen (Cedar Springs, Mich.),
Joyce Larioza (Fowlerville, Mich.) and
Kelse Moon (Fremont, Mich.) to come back and win 15-13.
No DU player had more than eight kills, but seven different Lady Panthers finished with at least four led by
Kassie Graves' (White Cloud, Mich.) eight.
Kayla Vandermolen (Cedar Springs, Mich.) posted 30 assists and
Heather Deal (Ravenna, Mich.) led DU with seven digs.
The win, which is the fourth in a row for DU and 6th out of 7, matches the longest win streak in school history.
Davenport is now 13-6 on the year and 5-1 in WHAC play. The Lady Panthers will host #RV Madonna University on Thursday at 7:00pm in the Student Center.
The match will be aired live on the DAN and you can also follow along with the live stats and live chat.
