Sophomore outside hitter Natalie Dieball led the offense as the Ohio Wesleyan volleyball team turned in its second consecutive sweep of a North Coast Athletic Conference opponent with a win at Wooster on Wednesday in Wooster.
The Bishops won the match by scores of 25-21, 25-18, 25-19.
Ohio Wesleyan trailed, 16-14, in the first set after a kill by Kora Burill when the Bishops went on a 5-0 run that included a pair of kills from senior middle blocker Claire Solberg. The Fighting Scots rallied to even the score at 19 on an ace by Jordan Laraway, but sophomore outside hitter Mason Campbell provided a couple of kills down the stretch and freshman middle blocker Jordanne Shannon delivered a set-ending kill to put the Bishops ahead in the match.
The Bishops assembled another timely 5-0 run during the second set, breaking an 11-11 tie with a burst that included a kill and a block by Shannon and a kill from junior setter Lily Bechina. Dieball had a pair of kills, and Solberg and Bechina added additional kills to help Ohio Wesleyan close out the set.
In the third set, Wooster took a 12-10 lead on a kill by Amelia Mitchell, but Dieball sparked a 10-1 Ohio Wesleyan run that included a stretch during which Dieball had 3 straight kills followed by 3 consecutive aces. Junior middle blocker Reagan Brake had a pair of kills as the Bishops finished off the set and the match.
Dieball led Ohio Wesleyan with 10 kills. Bechina dished out 24 assists. Solberg had a team-high 3 blocks and sophomore defensive specialist Avery Krause had 13 digs.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Junior goalkeeper Natalie Ryan tied the Ohio Wesleyan career mark for shutouts as the Bishops played to a scoreless tie with Kenyon in a North Coast Athletic Conference contest on Tuesday in Gambier.
Senior midfielder Ryan O’Neill had the game’s first good scoring chance, putting a shot on goal in the 16th minute, but Kenyon keeper Ariel Kite made the save.
The teams traded saves a few minutes later, with Ryan denying a shot by Kenyon’s Jamie Murphy in the 19th minute and Kite stopping a drive by sophomore forward Jordyn Adams just under 20 minutes into the action.
Ohio Wesleyan outshot Kenyon, 7-0, during the second half, with junior midfielder Tiffany Trinh, O’Neill, and junior defender Halle Dacek putting shots on goal, but Kite was there for the save each time.
The Bishops outshot the Owls, 11-3, on the day. Ryan finished with 1 save in the Bishop goal to record Ohio Wesleyan’s fourth consecutive shutout. The shutout was the 24th of Ryan’s career, equaling the mark set by Sandra DeWitt from 1994-97.
OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.
