Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Mount Union 3, Ohio Wesleyan 0
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Defiance 0

Sophomore outside hitter Kaitlyn Peters (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) highlighted the Ohio Wesleyan offense during the second day of the Bishop Invitational on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Ohio Wesleyan opened the day against undefeated Mount Union, with the Purple Raiders extending their record to 11-0 with a 25-21, 25-19, 25-19 win.  The Bishops bounced back to post a 25-19, 25-19, 25-21 verdict over Defiance in the tournament finale.

Mount Union broke a 13-13 tie with a 5-1 burst that included a kill and an ace from Alexis Meyer, and the Purple Raiders withstood late kills from Peters and freshman middle blocker Claire Solberg (Huron) before another Meyer kill gave the set to the visitors.  The Purple Raiders jumped to a 7-2 lead in the second set, with Meyer contributing a kill and 2 blocks.  Once again, the Bishops rallied, closing to within 21-19 with the help of consecutive Peters kills and a kill from sophomore outside hitter Melissa Murray (Chardon/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin), but Mount Union got the final 4 points of the match, the last on a Heaven Bartell kill.

The Bishops were within 12-11 after a Solberg kill in the third set, but Mount Union scored the next 4 points and went on to close out the set and the match.

Peters led Ohio Wesleyan with 8 kills, junior outside hitter Eliza Richardson (Lakewood) added 7, and Murray finished with 6.  Sophomore setter Abby Thierauf (Cincinnati/Milford) had 20 assists.  Freshman middle hitter Ava Kutilek (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) led the Bishops with 5 blocks, and sophomore defensive specialist Neah White (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) had 15 digs.

Against Defiance, Ohio Wesleyan led by a 19-17 count when a Peters kill and an ace and a kill from Murray extended the margin to 22-17, Solberg contributed a pair of kills to put the Bishops on the doorstep, and Kutilek and Thierauf teamed up on a block to end the set.

The Bishops raced to a 7-1 lead in the second set, getting 2 kills and a block from Kutilek along the way, and finished off the set with a Peters ace.  The third set saw the Yellow Jackets even the score at 20 on a kill by Jamia Murray, but Ohio Wesleyan responded with kills from Richardson and Melissa Murray before Kutilek and Melissa Murray combined on a block and Melissa Murray ended the match with a kill.

Peters had a team-best 12 kills, and Melissa Murray finished with 10.  Thierauf recorded 34 assists, Kutilek racked up 8 blocks, and White finished with 20 digs.

White and Kutilek represented Ohio Wesleyan on the all-tournament team.  They were joined on the all-tournament team by Carlie Craycraft and Morgan Hartman of Otterbein, Mount Union's Heaven Bartell and Darby Leininger, Anderson's Felicity Bontrager, Lauren Reynolds of Transylvania, Mackenzie Benham of Defiance, and Kenyon's Macy Reimbold.

Box Score - OWU-Mount Union
Box Score - OWU-Defiance