Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Heidelberg 1
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Spalding 0

Junior right-side hitter Grace Cummings (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) and senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Peters (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) led the Ohio Wesleyan offense, with Cummings tying a school record, as the Bishops posted a pair of wins during the first day of the Bishop Invitational, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan on Friday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Ohio Wesleyan opened the day with a come-from-behind, 21-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-18 win over Heidelberg, then swept Spalding by scores of 25-11, 25-17, 25-18.

The Bishops led, 15-14, in the first set against Heidelberg when the Student Princes took the lead with a 6-1 run that included 2 kills apiece from Anamya Truex and Grace Porter.  Ohio Wesleyan closed to within 23-21 on a block by junior right-side hitter Stephanie Marquardt (Cleveland/Parma Padua Franciscan), but the visitors got kills from Riley Tople and Kaitlyn Uffman to take the set.

Ohio Wesleyan broke a 16-16 tie in the second set with a 5-2 burst that featured kills from sophomore setter Lily Bechina (Chicago, Ill./Jones Prep), freshman outside hitter Natalie Dieball (Cincinnati/Lakota East), and Cummings, and while the Student Princes closed to within 21-20 on an Uffman kill, the Bishops scored the next 4 points to finish the set, getting the deciding point on a kill from senior middle blocker Claire Solberg (Huron).  The Bishops led, 19-16, in the third set before scoring the last 6 points, with Solberg recording a pair of kills and Peters zipping a pair of aces.  The fourth set saw Ohio Wesleyan break a 7-7 tie with a 7-1 spurt that started off with a Dieball kill, and the Bishops finished off the set with a 5-2 run that included a match-ending ace by junior middle blocker Ava Kutilek (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier).

Cummings led the Bishops with 15 kills, while Dieball added 14.  Junior setter Olivia Osuna (Orlando, Fla./Phillips) recorded 25 assists and Bechina finished with 17.  Peters led the Bishops with 4 blocks and senior defensive specialist Neah White (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) had a team-high 20 digs.

The Bishops raced to a 7-1 lead in the first set against Spalding, with Peters notching 3 kills and Cummings adding 3 aces, and Ohio Wesleyan ended the set with a 5 straight points that included 2 kills and a block by Solberg and a kill and an ace from Peters.  Ohio Wesleyan led, 18-16, in the second set before closing out the set with a 7-1 run sparked by 2 kills from Peters and a set-ending kill by Bechina.  In the third set, the Bishops trailed, 10-6, after an Abigail Ratts kill, but scored the next 9 points as Dieball collected 4 kills.  The Golden Eagles were still within striking distance at 18-16, but Ohio Wesleyan reeled off 8 consecutive points highlighted by a pair of aces by Cummings before Kutilek and freshman outside hitter Amarah McPhaul (Muncie, Ind./Daleville) teamed up on a match-ending block.

Cummings recorded 8 service aces, tying the school record for a 3-set match set by Robyn Euans against Otterbein on Oct. 1, 1991, and tied by Quinn Szente against Otterbein on Sept. 29, 2001.

Peters had a team-high 9 kills, while Dieball added 8 and Solberg had 7.  Osuna and Bechina dished out 12 assists apiece.  Kutilek led the Bishops with 4 blocks, and White had 11 digs.

Box Score - Heidelberg
Box Score - Spalding