Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Wittenberg 1

Sophomore outside hitter Natalie Dieball (Cincinnati/Lakota East) compiled 15 kills to lead the Ohio Wesleyan offense as the Bishops defeated Wittenberg in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Saturday in Springfield.

The Bishops defeated the Tigers by scores of 18-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-17.  The win was Ohio Wesleyan's first at Wittenberg since Nov. 11, 1973, when the Bishops defeated the Tigers by scores of 15-10, 15-6.

Wittenberg raced to a 6-0 lead in the first set, with Clare O'Malley contributing a pair of blocks.  The Bishops battled back to tie the score at 12 on a kill by freshman outside hitter Megan Lantis (Wooster), but the Tigers responded with another 6-0 run, with Kendall Black contributing 2 kills and a block, and went on to take the set.

Ohio Wesleyan broke a 13-13 tie in the second set on kills by freshman middle blocker Jordanne Shannon (Detroit, Mich./West Bloomfield) and senior right-side hitter Grace Cummings (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne), then closed the set with a 10-3 run with the help of a kill and a block by senior middle blocker Claire Solberg (Huron).

A 7-0 run put the Bishops ahead to stay in the third set, with Dieball zipping a pair of service aces and senior middle blocker Ava Kutilek (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) a pair of kills as Ohio Wesleyan turned a 4-4 deadlock into an 11-4 lead.

Dieball had a kill and an ace as Ohio Wesleyan opened the fourth set with a 6-2 run.  Wittenberg closed to within 14-12, but the Bishops scored the next 5 points, including 3 consecutive kills from Lantis, and finished off the set to take the match.

Dieball led the Bishops with 15 kills.  Junior setter Lily Bechina (Chicago, Ill./Jones College Prep) posted team bests of 27 assists and 18 digs.  Solberg finished with 3 blocks. 

Box Score