Marauders push Ohio Dominican to four sets in nonconference bout
Final: Ohio Dominican 3, Central State 1
Sets: 25–23, 17–25, 28–26, 25–21
Date/Time: Oct. 28, 2025 – 6:08 p.m.
Site: Beacom/Lewis Gym (Wilberforce, Ohio)
Central State went toe-to-toe with one of the G-MAC's hottest teams on Tuesday night, taking Ohio Dominican deep in two sets and winning the second outright before the Panthers edged out a 3–1 decision in Wilberforce.
The Marauders (11–10) actually hit for a higher percentage on the night (.186 to .155), piled up 10.0 team blocks and won the serve-receive battle for long stretches—but ODU (18–5) found just enough late-set answers, leaning on timely serving and first-ball termination to close the third (28–26) and fourth (25–21).
How it happened
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Set 1 (23–25): A back-and-forth opener saw CSU lead 22–19 after a Braelynn Reese/McGhee combo block and a Zahra Coates roof, but ODU ripped off a 6–1 closing run to steal it.
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Set 2 (25–17): The Marauders answered emphatically, hitting .379 with zero attack errors. Jasmin Churchill fired three aces in the frame and Maya Hendricks hammered four kills as CSU levelled the match.
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Set 3 (26–28): A heavyweight set with 11 ties after 20–20. Churchill's kill saved set point at 24–24, and CSU went up 26–25, but ODU strung together a clutch ace and a terminal swing to escape, 28–26.
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Set 4 (21–25): CSU surged to a mid-set 15–10 lead behind Coates on the pin and a Churchill ace. ODU countered with a 15–6 finish, aided by late aces from Saige Avery to seal it.
Marauder leaders
Notables:
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CSU out-blocked ODU 10.0–4.0 and out-dug the Panthers 70–62.
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Hendricks posted a double-double (12 kills, 14 digs) and added three aces.
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Churchill delivered one of her most efficient lines of the year: 6–0–13 (.462) with 5 aces and 4 blocks.
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Reese hit .286 with 10 kills and a match-high 6 blocks in the middle.
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Setters Brownlee (21) and Morris (20) split the 5–1 look effectively to guide 49 team kills.