Box Score

Denison 3, Ohio Wesleyan 2

Senior middle hitter Tamra Londot (Utica) pounded out 8 kills in the third set alone to start an Ohio Wesleyan comeback, but Denison held off the Bishop charge and escaped Branch Rickey Arena with a North Coast Athletic Conference win on Wednesday.

The Big Red defeated the Bishops by scores of 25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 20-25, 16-14.

Denison broke a 4-4 tie in the first set with 4 straight points, highlighted by an Elsa Manning kill and a Kenzie Kuhn block.  The Big Red still led, 9-7, when they took off on a 9-2 run that included a pair of Brittany Perry kills, along with another Manning kill, and Denison extended the margin to 22-12 on back-to-back kills from Elena Lein.  Ohio Welseyan closed to within 24-17 with the help of a Londot kill, but Lein posted another kill to close out the set.

The Bishops took the lead with a 6-1 burst in the second set, turning a 6-5 deficit into an 11-6 lead, as sophomore middle hitter Meigan Day (Port Clinton) racked up a kill, a block, and a service ace and freshman outside hitter Rylee Komminsk (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) also had a block and a kill.  Denison came back to tie the score at 13 behind a pair of Lein kills, and the score would be tied 5 more times, the last at 20-20.  The Big Red took a 22-20 lead on another Lein kill, and while Londot kept the Bishops alive with a pair of kills, Lein came back with a kill to finish the set for Denison.

The Big Red built a 15-10 lead in the third set, getting a pair of kills from Lauren Gustafson along the way.  Ohio Wesleyan responded with a 10-2 run that featured 3 Londot kills and another by Komminsk, and a double-hit call on Lein gave the Bishops a 20-17 lead.  Another pair of Londot kills extended the Bishop advantage to 23-19.  Denison rallied to within 23-22 with the help of kills from Gustafson and Kuhn, but the Bishops shut the door on the Big Red with a kill from senior outside hitter Katie Fain (Vandalia/Butler) and a Denison attack error.

Ohio Wesleyan used another run to take the lead in the fourth set, turning a 10-8 deficit into a 15-12 lead as Fain, Londot, and Day supplied kills.  After that, the Bishops did not allow the Big Red to come closer than 2 points, eventually extending the lead to 23-18 with 3 straight points capped by a Londot block.  Denison came back to within 23-20 on consecutive kills from Lein, but Day blasted a set-ending kill to send the match to a fifth set.

The fifth set saw the teams trade points until Denison broke a 7-7 tie with 2 straight points that included a Lein kill.  Ohio Wesleyan came back to tie the score at 10 on a Londot kill, only to see the Big Red score the next 3 points.  The Bishops answered with 3 points of their own, getting kills from Day and Komminsk and a service ace from Fain to make it 13-13.  Denison took the lead with a Rachele Lock kill, but Carly Newell's serve for the match went into the net, keeping the Bishops alive.  Kuhn then put the Big Red ahead, 15-14, and Denison took the set and the match when Day's attack attempt was wide of the right sideline.

Londot led the Bishops with 16 kills while making only one error in 39 attempts. Day finished with 11 kills, Fain added 10, and Komminsk contributed 9.  Freshman setter Shannon Schlater (Englewood/Northmont) doled out 42 assists.

Defensive standouts for the Bishops included Londot, who collected 5 blocks, and sophomore libero Danielle Birney (Toledo/Sylvania Southview), who had 24 digs.

Box Score