Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Denison 2

by Michaela Alfano '25

The Ohio Wesleyan volleyball team clinched its first North Coast Atlantic Conference tournament championship since 1996 with a competitive 5-set win over Denison on Saturday in Granville.  With the win, Ohio Wesleyan receives the NCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA DIII Volleyball tournament, where the Bishops will make their first-ever NCAA Division III playoff appearance.  They will find out who they will face on Monday, November 18, during the NCAA selection show at 1 p.m.

The Bishops won, 3-2, with the sets ending 23-25, 25-9, 26-24, 31-33, and 15-11.

Denison got on the board first in set one, racing to a 6-2 lead.  A kill and a block by senior middle blocker Claire Solberg (Huron) and service from sophomore outside hitter Natalie Dieball (Cincinnati/Lakota East) closed the gap to tie things up.  Denison kept the advantage but Ohio Wesleyan held strong, going on a late 5-1 scoring run to make the score 24-23.  A kill from Denison's Maeve Perry sealed the first set for the Big Red.

The second set started quickly with sophomore outside hitter Mason Campbell (Columbus/Pickerington Central) serving up back-to-back service aces for the Bishops.  A 12-1 scoring run for Ohio Wesleyan gave them a strong advantage with senior middle blocker Ava Kutilek (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) notching 3 kills.  A kill from senior right-side hitter Grace Cummings (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) wrapped up the set with an easy race to 25.

To kick off the third set, Denison scored 2 quick points before the Bishops went on a 7-0 scoring run with 3 service aces from Kutilek.  The Big Red brought the game to a 12-12 tie but the Bishops were able to keep the lead in their favor until a 4-0 run from Denison made the score 24-23.  With set point against them, the Bishops scored 3 straight off of a kill from Kutilek and an ace from Campbell to win the set, 26-24.

Denison once again got on the board first with a 3-0 start but the Bishops were able to score four points with kills from Dieball to give them the lead in the fourth set.  Denison battled back with a 6-0 run to give them an 18-17 advantage. From there the teams traded points, tying the score 13 times before Denison was able to notch the win, 33-31, in the highest-scoring set in NCAC tournament history.

The fifth set was tied 9 times early in the set before the Bishops scored 3 straight to give them a 12-9 lead.  A block by Solberg and junior setter Lily Bechina (Chicago, Ill./Jones College Prep) at 13-11 made it match point.  A serve by junior libero Bella Guzzetta (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River) sealed the match, 15-11.

Solberg was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and was joined on the all-tournament team by Bechina and Dieball.

Solberg led with 14 kills, 2 solo blocks, and 6 block assists.  Dieball followed with 13 kills and 6 block assists.  Kutilek notched 12 kills and 8 block assists.  Bechina had 49 assists and 23 digs in the match.  The Bishops ended the match with 16.0 total blocks.

Box Score