DELAWARE, Ohio – The Ohio Wesleyan University volleyball team (3-5, 0-0 NCAC) hosted Rose-Hulman (1-7, 0-0 HCAC) on Friday evening for night one of the 2026 Bishop Invitational. The two-day event features six teams from across Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and West Virginia. After battling out for five sets, the Battling Bishops were able to close out the match with a 3-2 win.
The 3-2 final was a toss-up match with OWU and Rose-Hulman trading sets throughout. The Bishops started hot with nine straight points in the first set, eventually building to a 22-10 lead before taking it 25-19. Set two started close but Rose-Hulman ultimately took a 22-17 advantage in the late stages. The Red and Black battled back to within two at 22-20, but a late string of points gave the Fightin' Engineers a 25-21 win.
The climax of the game consisted of OWU and Rose-Hulman battling it out in sets three, four, and five. Just when it seemed that Ohio Wesleyan claimed the momentum with a dominating 25-14 win in set three – following another 9-0 run to start – Rose-Hulman nabbed a 25-19 win in set four to tie it back up and force a fifth.
The Battling Bishops and Fightin' Engineers traded points in the fifth set until the Red and Black snuck into a 10-9 lead. From then on out the momentum leaned toward the Bishops as OWU claimed five of the last seven points for the 15-11 victory.
THE NUMBERS
OWU had a total of 71 points, compared to Rose-Hulman's 56. Ohio Wesleyan had 49 kills, while Rose-Hulman had 39. The Bishops dropped in a season-high 16 service aces compared to 15 for R-H. The Battling Bishops also had an impressive number of digs, achieving 65, compared to Rose-Hulman's 51.
Jordanne Shannon had 17 kills – one away from her season high.
Megan Lantis followed with a season-high total of nine kills.
Abby Nulph managed eight kills.
Maggi Wall landed a career-high seven service aces – the fourth-most by a Bishop in a five-set match.
Sydney Dales secured a season-high three.
Nulph had the highest number of blocks for OWU with three. Jaleyn Taylor and
Taylor Tompkins followed closely behind, each having two.
Taylor had a career-high 27 assists as the Bishops' leading setter.
Jenna Ashbrook was second with 13.
Avery Krause achieved 18 digs, followed by
Sarah Thomas with 13 and
Natalie Dieball with 10.
UP NEXT
The Red and Black continue action in the Bishop Invitational tomorrow with a doubleheader against Kalamazoo and Anderson at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
