Oberlin 3, Ohio Wesleyan 2

Oct. 16, 2007

Senior outside hitter Steffi Graf (Poland/Seminary) and sophomore outside hitter Kristin Kovach (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) led the Ohio Wesleyan offense as the Bishops took a 2-games-to-1 lead, but Oberlin rallied to escape with a North Coast Athletic Conference win on Tuesday in Branch Rickey Arena.

Oberlin won the match by scores of 20-30, 30-27, 22-30, 30-23, 15-9.

The Bishops took the lead for good early in the first game, breaking a 4-4 tie with a 5-0 run that included a pair of blocks by senior middle hitter Kelli Lester (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial), and Kovach had back-to-back kills to help Ohio Wesleyan stretch its lead to 16-8. Oberlin closed to within 21-17 as Deysi Villareal and Amanda Wysk recorded kills, but the Bishops answered with an 8-1 burst that featured 3 kills by junior middle hitter Janna Dagley (Beavercreek) and another Lester block.

Oberlin raced to an 8-4 lead in the second game as Wisk, Villareal and Maggie Jacobson scored points, but the Bishops came back to tie matters at 11-11 as Graf recorded a pair of kills and a block. Holding a 17-16 lead, the Bishops appeared to take command with a 7-1 run that included a pair of kills by junior middle hitter Katie Hamilton (Hilliard/Darby) and another Graf block, but Oberlin rallied with a 10-2 streak to take a 27-26 lead, with Wysk and Melissa DeLombaert contributing a pair of kills apiece. Kovach ended the Oberlin run with a kill that tied the game at 27-27, but the Yeowomen took advantage of 3 Bishop errors to end the game.

The Yeowomen carried that momentum into the third game, taking a 9-5 lead with the help of a pair of Villareal kills. Ohio Wesleyan roared back with a 10-1 spree, highlighted by a block and a kill by Lester. Oberlin came back to within 20-18 on a block by DeLombaert, but the Bishops responded with an 8-2 run highlighted by a pair of Kovach kills and capped by a Graf kill. Leading, 28-20, the Bishops traded points twice and ended the game on a Hamilton kill.

Ohio Wesleyan took a quick 2-0 lead in the fourth game, but Oberlin got a pair of kills from Anna Frackman on the way to a 5-2 lead. The Yeowomen gradually pulled away, taking a 16-8 lead on Rita Kaplon's kill, and maintaining that 8-point margin as Villareal logged a kill to make it a 24-16 game. Ohio Wesleyan rallied, getting a pair of points from Kovach to close within 25-20, but back-to-back kills from Frackman helped Oberlin take a 29-20 lead. Ohio Wesleyan had one more rally, getting a pair of Graf kills and another from Lester to close within 29-23, but Villareal ended the game with a kill, forcing a winner-take-all fifth game.

The Bishops again jumped to a quick 2-0 lead, getting kills from senior outside hitter Stefanie McCoy (Powell/Olentangy) and Lester. Oberlin answered with 6 straight points, with Villareal recording a block and a kill, but Ohio Wesleyan followed suit, with McCoy and Lester posting kills to kick off a 6-0 run that left the Bishops holding an 8-6 lead. After the teams changed sides, the Yeowomen scored the next 8 points, with Frackman notching a pair of kills and Villareal another. Graf kept the Bishops in the match with a kill to make the score 14-9, but Villareal ended the match with another kill.

Graf led the Bishops with 19 kills and 8 blocks and added 34 digs. Kovach finished with 14 kills and Hamilton added 10 more. Junior setter Shea Pence (Danville, Ind./Danville Community) led the Bishops with 53 assists and contributed 21 digs.

Defensive standouts for Ohio Wesleyan included Lester, who contributed 7 blocks; and senior libero Jaime Scharf (Marion/River Valley), who led the Bishops with 43 digs.