Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Denison 0
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Hanover 2
Freshman outside hitter Natalie Dieball (Cincinnati/Lakota East) powered the Ohio Wesleyan offense as the Bishops took a pair of matches on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.
The Bishops defeated Denison in the opener, winning by scores of 25-19, 25-18, 25-22 to remain tied for first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference at 5-0. Ohio Wesleyan then rallied past Hanover, winning by scores of 20-25, 26-24, 27-29, 25-18, 15-13.
Denison raced to a 7-1 lead in the opening set, with Reagan Sass and Corinne Boyd each contributing 2 kills and a block assist, but the Bishops came back to even the score at 11 on an ace by freshman defensive specialist Avery Krause (Cleveland/Holy Name). With the score tied at 17, the Bishops reeled off 4 straight points to take the lead, then finished off the set with 4 more points in a row, with senior middle blocker Claire Solberg (Huron) and Dieball each coming through with 2 kills during that final run.
The second set saw the Bishops take a 4-1 lead behind a kill and consecutive aces from Dieball, then add to the lead with a 7-0 run that included a kill and a block by Solberg. Ohio Wesleyan led by as many as 10 points at 17-7, then got kills from senior right-side hitter Melissa Murray (Chardon/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin), Solberg, and senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Peters (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) down the stretch to take the set. In the third set, Denison led by a 17-15 count after a kill from Boyd, but the Bishops rallied for a 19-18 lead on a Dieball kill, then broke a 20-20 tie with 3 straight kills by Murray before yet another Murray kill ended the match.
Dieball led the Bishops with 11 kills, while Murray finished with 10. Sophomore setter Lily Bechina (Chicago, Ill./Jones College Prep) recorded 19 assists and junior setter Olivia Osuna (Orlando, Fla./Phillips) finished with 14. Solberg had a team-high 5 blocks and senior defensive specialist Neah White (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) had 22 digs.
Hanover led through most of the first set before a 4-0 run that included a kill and a block by Abbey McCoy extended the Panther lead to 19-13. Ohio Wesleyan rallied to within 22-19 on a Murray kill, but the visitors got consecutive kills from Maddie Robertson to take the opening set. The Panthers opened the second set with an 8-1 run that included a kill, a block, and 2 aces from McCoy, and Hanover still led by a 10-3 count after a Robertson kill. Ohio Wesleyan reeled off 6 straight points as junior right-side hitter Grace Cummings (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) had 2 kills, and the Bishops pulled even at 15 on a Dieball kill. With the score tied at 24, Solberg came through with a kill to put the Bishops on the doorstep, then teamed up with Osuna for a set-ending block to knot the match at a set apiece.
Ohio Wesleyan scored the first 5 points of the third set as Dieball had a pair of kills and Murray another. With the score tied at 23, Solberg delivered a kill to give the Bishops another set point, but this time McCoy answered with a kill to keep the set alive. Junior middle blocker Ava Kutilek (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) delivered a kill for a 27-26 Ohio Wesleyan lead, but the Panthers scored the next 3 points, sandwiching a pair of Elliot Mays kills around a block by C.C. Shick and Robertson, to win the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Bishops broke a 10-10 tie in the fourth set with 5 straight points that included an ace by Bechina, and Dieball provided 3 kills and an ace down the stretch as Ohio Wesleyan forced a fifth set. With the score tied at 12 in the fifth set, Peters and Cummings recorded kills to put the Bishops ahead to stay, and an attack error provided the final point that completed the Ohio Wesleyan comeback.
Dieball led the way with 18 kills, while Murray added 12 and Cummings finished with 11. Osuna recorded 28 assists and Bechina had 12. Solberg notched 2 blocks, and Peters, Dieball, and Bechina each posted 16 digs.
Box Score - Denison
Box Score - Hanover
