Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Hiram 0

by Michaela Alfano '25

Sophomore outside hitter Natalie Dieball (Cincinnati/Lakota East) notched 16 kills as Ohio Wesleyan powered past Wooster in a 3-0 sweep to close out its North Coast Athletic Conference schedule on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

The Bishops won the match by scores of 25-10, 25-20, 25-23.  The Ohio Wesleyan win, combined with Wittenberg's 4-set win over Denison, creates a 3-way tie for second place between Ohio Wesleyan, Wittenberg, and DePauw in the conference standings at 5-2 behind NCAC champion Denison (6-1).  Ohio Wesleyan defeated both Wittenberg and DePauw, giving the Bishops the No. 2 seed and a bye in the tournament quarterfinals, scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 12.  The Bishops will play the winner of the quarterfinal match between third-seeded DePauw and sixth-seeded Oberlin in a semifinal match on Friday, Nov. 15, in Granville, Ohio.

Ohio Wesleyan got off to a strong start in the first set, opening with the first 2 points.  Hiram kept it close until the score hit 10-7 in favor of the home team.  Senior middle blocker Ava Kutilek (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) served up 4 points, with an ace in the mix, for the Bishops to run away with it.  They continued to build their lead to 19-9, only allowing one more point as they went on to win the set, 25-10.  Kutilek and sophomore outside hitter Mason Campbell (Columbus/Pickerington Central) had 2 kills each, all assisted by junior setter Lily Bechina (Chicago, Ill. Jones/College Prep).

After going down, 5-1, in the second set, the Bishops pushed to bring the set to a tie at 8.  After tying 6 times, the Bishops sealed the win, going on a 6-2 run to win the set, 25-20.  Kutilek dished out 2 kills and senior right-side hitter Grace Cummings (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) added 1 in the final stretch of the set.  Sophomore defensive specialist Avery Krause (Cleveland/Holy Name) served up 2 aces in the set.

The third set was close from the start, with neither team leading by more than 2 points until the Bishops went on a 5-point run to make the game 16-12.  Hiram was able to bring it back to a 2-point differential but two clean services from Dieball and a kill from senior middle blocker Claire Solberg (Huron) sealed the set for the Bishops.

Dieball led the Bishops with 16 kills, Kutilek followed with 10, and Campbell added 9.  Bechina finished with team bests of 41 assists and 14 digs.  Kutilek and Cummings each had block assists while Solberg notched the only solo block of the match.

Box Score