Box Score
Denison 3, Ohio Wesleyan 2

Senior outside hitter Eliza Richardson (Lakewood) posted 8 kills to help third-seeded Ohio Wesleyan to a 2-0 lead, but second-seeded Denison rallied for a win in a North Coast Athletic Conference tournament semifinal match on Saturday in Springfield.

Denison built a 4-2 lead in the first set as Lucy Anderson had a pair of kills, then increased the margin to 6-4 with the help of consecutive aces from Sophie Tight.  Trailing, 16-11, the Bishops closed to within 16-15 after 3 consecutive kills by Richardson and pulled even at 18 on another Richardson kill.  With the Big Red leading, 24-22, and serving for the set, junior outside hitter Kaitlyn Peters (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) came through with a kill and junior defensive specialist Neah White (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) followed with an ace, and kills by junior outside hitter Melissa Murray (Chardon/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) and Peters capped a 4-0 set-ending run and gave the Bishops the lead.

The second set saw Ohio Wesleyan jump to a 4-2 lead behind a pair of Murray kills, then stretch the margin to 18-10 after a 5-0 run that included kills from Murray and sophomore setter Olivia Osuna (Orlando, Fla./Phillips).  Anderson rallied the Big Red with 3 straight kills and a block to make it a 21-19 score, and it was 23-21 after another Anderson block, but the Bishops got the next point and White zipped a service ace to close out the set and put Ohio Wesleyan up, 2-0.

Richardson and Peters had kills during the early going in the third set, and sophomore middle blocker Ava Kutilek (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) had consecutive kills to help the Bishops take an 8-3 lead.  Denison rallied with an 11-2 run that included 2 kills and a block by Anderson, and the Big Red stretched the lead to 19-15 after kills by Kelly McCaskey and Cailey Johns.  Ohio Wesleyan came back to tie the score at 23 as Richardson had back-to-back kills and Kutiledk followed with another, but Tight and Anderson registered kills to end the set and keep Denison alive.

The Big Red took off on a 6-1 run to open the fourth set, with Natalie Hutras contributing a kill and a block and Anderson adding 2 kills and a block.  Ohio Wesleyan pulled within 14-13, but Denison answered with another 6-1 run, this time getting a block and a kill from Anderson and Sadie Habeeb recording back-to-back aces, and forced a fifth set with Sidney Gossard's set-ending kill.

Ohio Wesleyan went up, 3-1, in the fifth set on a Kutilek kill, and the Bishops led, 7-6, after an ace by sophomore right-side hitter Grace Cummings (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne).  Denison scored the next 3 points, getting kills from McCaskey and Johns.  With the score tied at 12, Denison got a kill and a block by Anderson and was serving for the match, but Ohio Wesleyan bounced back to even the score at 14 on a Cummings kill.  The Big Red got the next point to take the lead, and Anderson delivered a kill to give the set and the match to Denison.

Richardson led the Bishops with 16 kills, while Peters finished with 13 and Kutilek added 10.  Osuna finished with 42 assists.  Sophomore middle blocker Claire Solberg (Huron) had 2 blocks.  Peters led the Bishops with 18 digs.

Richardson represented Ohio Wesleyan on the all-tournament team.

Box Score