Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Hiram 1
Freshman outside hitter Natalie Dieball (Cincinnati/Lakota East) and senior right-side hitter Melissa Murray (Chardon/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) recorded double-digit efforts in kills as Ohio Wesleyan wrapped up its North Coast Athletic Conference schedule with a win over Hiram on Saturday in Hiram.
The Bishops defeated the Terriers by scores of 16-25, 25-6, 25-18, 25-19.
Hiram jumped to a 5-0 lead in the opening set, and a pair of kills by Andrya Hanmore helped the Terriers extend the margin to 10-2. Ohio Wesleyan rallied to within 18-12 on a kill by freshman outside hitter Mason Campbell (Pickerington/North), and the Bishops were still within 21-15 after an ace by senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Peters (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestad), but Hiram finished off the set with the help of 2 kills from Emily Richardson.
In the second set, Hiram took a 2-1 lead on a bad set by sophomore setter Lily Bechina (Chicago, Ill./Jones College Prep), but the Bishops scored the next 11 points, highlighted by a run of 4 Murray kills in a stretch of 5 points. Ohio Wesleyan closed out the set with a 6-0 run, with senior middle blocker Claire Solberg (Huron) contributing 2 kills and a block. Ohio Wesleyan trailed, 14-13, in the third set, but a 4-0 burst that included kills from Solberg and Dieball put the Bishops ahead to stay before a Solberg block and a Dieball kill ended the set. The Bishops built an 8-3 lead in the fourth set on a Murray kill and were up, 18-9, after a kill by junior right-side hitter Grace Cummings (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne), but Hiram closed to within 19-18 on a Kayla Franks kill and was within 20-19 after Dieball and Franks traded kills. Murray and Solberg then combined to score the next 5 points to end the set and the match.
Dieball led the Bishops with 17 kills and 24 digs, while Murray added 13 kills. Junior setter Olivia Osuna (Orlando, Fla./Phillips) had 25 assists and Bechina finished with 23 assists. Solberg finished with a team-high 3 blocks.
Box Score
