Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Kenyon 0

Junior outside hitter Melissa Murray (Chardon/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) and senior outside hitter Eliza Richardson (Lakewood) recorded double-digit efforts in kills as third-seeded Ohio Wesleyan swept seventh-seeded Kenyon in a North Coast Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal match on Friday in Springfield.

With the win, Ohio Wesleyan advances to face second-seeded Denison in a tournament semifinal at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Springfield.  The other semifinal matches fifth-seeded Hiram against top-seeded Wittenberg, also at 11 a.m.  The semifinal winners will play for the NCAC tournament championship at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

The Bishops opened up a 9-3 lead in the first set, with Richardson recording 3 kills and Murray adding 2 more.  Kenyon whittled the deficit to 13-8, but Ohio Wesleyan scored the next 7 points, getting back-to-back kills by Murray and additional kills from sophomore middle blocker Claire Solberg (Huron) and sophomore setter Olivia Osuna (Orlando, Fla./Phillips).

Murray delivered 5 kills as Ohio Wesleyan extended an 8-6 lead into a 15-8 cushion in the second set, and the Bishops still led, 19-13, after a Richardson kill.  Kenyon closed to within 21-19 as Kathryn McCaffrey had a pair of kills, but Ohio Wesleyan got kills from Murray, Solberg, and junior outside hitter Kaitlyn Peters (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) down the stretch before Osuna closed out the set with a kill for a 2-0 Bishop lead in the match.

Kenyon reeled off 6 straight points to go up, 6-2, in the third set, with Lindsay Abramson and Paige Milhon contributing kills.  Another Millhon kill gave the Owls a 16-11 lead, but Ohio Wesleyan went on a 9-1 run that included a pair of Richardson kills and back-to-back aces by sophomore right-side hitter Grace Cummings (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne).  The Owls rallied to tie the score at 20 after back-to-back kills by Macy Reimbold, but the Bishops scored the final 5 points of the set as Richardson, Murray, and sophomore middle blocker Ava Kutilek (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) had kills and Osuna had an ace before a Kutilek block ended the match.

Murray led the Bishops with 15 kills and Richardson finished with 12.  Osuna collected 40 assists.  Solberg had 2 blocks, and junior defensive specialist Neah White (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) recorded 13 digs.

Box Score