CEDARVILLE, Ohio — Cedarville earned its biggest win of the season with a 3-2 triumph over 21st-ranked Findlay on Saturday evening at the Callan Athletic Center.
The Lady Jackets rallied from an early deficit to prevail 19-25, 27-25, 16-25, 25-22, 15-12 before an energetic crowd of 818 fans. Cedarville (11-2, 5-0 G-MAC) battled back after dropping the first and third sets to hand the nationally-ranked Oilers (10-2, 4-1 G-MAC) only their second loss of the year.
Senior
Cassi Shields led a balanced Cedarville attack with 16 kills, 17 digs, and seven blocks (20.5 points).
Haley Koch contributed nine kills and nine blocks, while
Janae Heegaard added six kills and nine blocks of her own.
Setter
Kaley Matney directed the offense with 45 assists, two service aces, and 13 digs.
Meagan Johnson anchored the back row with 27 digs as the Lady Jackets recorded 76 as a team.
After dropping the opening set, Cedarville edged Findlay 27-25 in the second behind clutch service ace from Koch. The Oilers regained control in set three, but the Lady Jackets responded with a dominant .395 attack percentage in set four to force a decisive fifth.
Cedarville jumped ahead 8-6 at the switch and never trailed again, sealing the upset on another ace from Koch.
Quotable: Head Coach Greg Smith
"I loved our resolve. We got beat up easily in the first set, came back out in set two and did a really nice job. Set three we lost ourselves, but I love the fact that we came back and won set 4. Then in set five we had a lot of resolve that we were going to win this match. I'm very pleased and happy for the team. They've gone through so much and this shows this is the level of play we can be at."
Quotable: Cassi Shields
"I was very proud of our girls on fighting back. A lot of it is just the mentality of staying in it the whole time. This is our home court, so we had something to defend. We just kept thinking one point at a time and try to win the five point games.
I love our student section! They are so fun, and I thought they were very encouraging. I thought they did a great job cheering and I wasn't expecting this many people at our game. They helped us keep our energy up!"
Five Facts:
- Cedarville improved to 11-2 overall and 5-0 in G-MAC play.
- The Lady Jackets defeated a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time since 2022.
- Cassi Shields tallied her first double-double of the season.
- Cedarville's 19 team blocks were a season-high.
- The Lady Jackets are 7-1 at home this season.
Cedarville returns to Callan Athletic Center on Thursday October 9th to host Thomas More in another conference match.
