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

Senior middle blocker Ava Kutilek (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) and sophomore outside hitter Natalie Dieball (Cincinnati/Lakota East) led the Ohio Wesleyan offense as the Bishops swept a pair of matches during the second day of the Bishop Invitational, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan on Friday at Branch Rickey Arena.

The Bishops opened the day with a 15-25, 25-19, 20-25, 33-31, 16-14 win over Capital, then swept Heidelberg by scores of 25-20, 25-23, 25-17.

Capital used a 5-0 run that included a kill and 2 aces from Sophia Sobota to stretch an 8-7 lead to 13-7 in the first set.  The Bishops answered in the second set, getting a kill and a block each from Kutilek and senior middle blocker Claire Solberg (Huron) while keeping the Comets at arm's length.  Capital broke a 17-17 tie in the third set with kills by Larissa Smith, Chloe Preocanin and Samaree Perkins and did not allow Ohio Wesleyan closer than 3 points the rest of the way to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set was a thriller in which the biggest lead was 3 points.  Ohio Wesleyan took a 17-14 lead on the second of 2 consecutive aces by senior right-side hitter Grace Cummings (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne), and Capital rallied for a 21-18 lead on a block by Smith.  Cummings broke a 23-23 tie with a kill to give the Bishops the serve for the set, but Perkins and Simone Daniel teamed up for a block to keep the Comets alive.  With the score even at 31, Kutilek came through with back-to-back kills to force a fifth set.  Down, 8-4, in the fifth set, Ohio Wesleyan reeled off 5 straight points that included 3 kills by freshman right-side hitter Jordanne Shannon (Detroit, Mich./West Bloomfield).  The score was tied at 14 when a kill from sophomore outside hitter Mason Campbell (Columbus/Pickerington Central) put the Bishops ahead, and a Comet attack error provided the match-ending point.

Kutilek led the Bishops with 16 kills and only 1 error in 38 attempts and added a team-best 3 blocks, while Campbell and Shannon added 12 kills apiece.  Sophomore setter Jenna Ashbrook (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) had a team-high 41 assists, and Campbell led the Bishops with 23 digs.

Against Heidelberg, Solberg and Dieball contributed back-to-back kills that opened up an 18-10 lead in the first set, but the Student Princes responded with the next 6 points, getting a kill and a block from Mikayla Sage along the way.  A Dieball kill ended that Heidelberg run, and the Bishops closed out the set with kills from Campbell, Cummings, and Solberg.  Heidelberg took a 20-17 lead in the second set as Riley Tople posted a solo block and then teamed up with Kaitlyn Uffman for a block on the next point, but the Bishops pulled even at 22 on kills by Shannon and Solberg, and after a Solberg kill put Ohio Wesleyan at set point, it was Shannon and Solberg again, this time on a set-ending block.  The Student Princes were within 17-13 in the third set when Ohio Wesleyan closed the set with an 8-4 run, getting aces from Campbell, freshman defensive specialist Sarah Thomas (Columbus/Bishop Watterson), and Ashbrook before a Cummings kill ended the match.

Dieball had team bests of 10 kills and 15 digs, and Cummings added 9 kills with only 1 error in 17 attempts for a .471 hitting percentage.  Ashbrook and junior setter Lily Bechina (Chicago, Ill./Jones College Prep) had 16 assists apiece, and Solberg led Ohio Wesleyan with 5 blocks.

The Bishop Invitational is scheduled to conclude on Saturday.

Box Score - Capital-Ohio Wesleyan
Box Score - Heidelberg-Ohio Wesleyan