(Crestview Hills, KY) – The Thomas More University women's volleyball team dropped their home opener Tuesday night to the visiting Ohio Dominican University Panthers, 3-1. Sawyer Lorentz led the Saints with 13 kills, while Asia Ferrando led with 15 digs and Sam McClanahan recorded another double-double with 38 assists and 14 digs.
The future conference rivals fought hard throughout the match, with all four sets coming down to the wire. The Saints led set one 21-19 before a 7-0 Panthers run ended the set and gave them a 1-0 match lead.
The second set was knotted at 20-20, before a trio of Ally Albrinck kills down the stretch helped take the set for Thomas More and tie the match at 1-1. The third set was tied 24-24, but Ohio Dominican finished the set with a pair of kills to take a 2-1 lead into the fourth set.
The Panthers got off to a quick lead in the fourth, holding a 17-11 advantage. However, Thomas More wouldn't go down easily. They used a 7-3 flurry to cut the lead down to 20-18. The run was fueled by Panther mistakes along with kills from Emily Acito and McClanahan. Ohio Dominican would turn on the jets though, finishing the set on a 5-1 run to win 25-19 and take the match 3-1.
Thomas More returns to action this weekend for a tournament hosted by Siena Heights University. They begin play on Friday at 5:00 p.m. against Kentucky Christian University before playing Siena Heights in the nightcap at 7:00 p.m.
- McClanahan now has four double-doubles in the Saints first five matches
- Lorentz has recorded 13 or more kills in all but one match so far this season
- Ferrando has 15 or more digs in every match this season and 114 total
