Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Texas Lutheran 2

Sophomore outside hitter Natalie Dieball (Cincinnati/Lakota East) delivered 4 kills without an error and added 2 service aces during the fifth set to help Ohio Wesleyan close out a win over Texas Lutheran during the first day of the Bishop Invitational, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan on Thursday at Branch Rickey Arena.

The Bishops defeated the Bulldogs by scores of 25-22, 25-21, 16-25, 15-25, 15-8.

Ohio Wesleyan trailed, 22-18, in the first set but reeled off the final 7 points to take the set, with Dieball collecting 4 consecutive kills before senior right-side hitter Grace Cummings (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) added a pair of kills to break a 22-22 tie.  The Bishops pulled away from a 16-13 lead in the second set as senior middle blocker Ava Kutilek (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) had a kill, a block, and an ace during a 7-2 run that extended the margin to 23-16, and senior middle blocker Claire Solberg (Huron) closed out the set with a kill.

The Bulldogs took off on a 10-2 run in the third set, with Andie Lozano-Lomeli and Ryann Ely contributing a pair of kills apiece to help the visitors take a 18-9 lead.  Brylee Nedd had 3 kills and Ely added 2 more down the stretch to force a fourth set.  In the fourth set, Ohio Wesleyan closed to within 11-10 on an ace by sophomore defensive specialist Avery Krause (Cleveland/Holy Name), but Texas Lutheran scored the next 8 points, with Nedd and Ely each recording 2 kills, and went on to even the match.

The Bishops raced to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set as Dieball collected 3 kills and Kutilek added another, and Dieball had back-to-back aces to stretch the lead to 12-5.  Freshmam right-side hitter Jordanne Shannon (Detroit, Mich./West Bloomfield) added a kill and freshman outside hitter Megan Lantis (Wooster) followed with a kill to end the match.

Dieball led the Bishops with 20 kills, while Solberg finished with 10.  Junior setter Lily Bechina (Chicago, Ill./Jones College Prep) dished out 44 assists.  Kutilek led the Bishops with 4 blocks and junior defensive specialist Bella Guzzetta (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River) had 30 digs.

Box Score