Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Mount Union 1
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Buffalo State 0
Freshman outside hitter Natalie Dieball (Cincinnati/Lakota East) turned in a pair of double-digit efforts in kills as Ohio Wesleyan opened its season with a pair of wins during the first day of the Mount Union Invitational, hosted by the University of Mount Union on Friday in Alliance.
Ohio Wesleyan defeated Mount Union by scores of 25-14, 25-23, 17-25, 25-23 and defeated Buffalo State by scores of 25-23, 25-10, 25-22.
Dieball collected 3 kills and a block as the Bishops raced to an 8-0 lead in the first set against Mount Union. Senior right-side hitter Melissa Murray (Chardon/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) came through with back-to-back kills as the Bishops broke a 23-23 tie to close out the second set. Mount Union's Darby Leininger had consecutive kills during a 7-0 run that broke a 7-7 tie, and the Purple Raiders extended the match with a win in the third set, but Ohio Wesleyan again got a pair of kills from Murray down the stretch to nail down the match with a win in the fourth set.
Murray led the Bishops with 19 kills, while Dieball finished with 14. Junior setter Olivia Osuna (Orlando, Fla./Phillips) recorded 40 assists. Sophomore middle blocker Reagan Brake (McPherson, Kan./Inman) had a team-high 5 blocks, and senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Peters (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) finished with 30 digs.
Against Buffalo State, Dieball had 2 kills and an ace as the Bishops stretched a 21-20 lead into a 24-20 margin, then got the final kill as Ohio Wesleyan won the first set. Murray had 2 kills and a block during a set-opening 7-1 run that started the Bishops on their way to a win in the second set, and Brake got the final kill in the third set as the Bishops held off a Bengal comeback to win the set and the match.
Dieball had a team-high 10 kills. Osuna and sophomore setter Lily Bechina (Chicago, Ill./Jones College Prep) each contributed 13 assists. Murray led the Bishops with 2 blocks, and Osuna led the Bishops with 12 digs.
Box Score - Mount Union
Box Score - Buffalo State
