Ohio Wesleyan 3, Allegheny 0

Oct. 27, 2007

Senior middle hitter Kelli Lester (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial), senior outside hitter Stefanie McCoy (Powell/Olentangy) and senior outside hitter Steffi Graf (Poland/Seminary) sparked Ohio Wesleyan scoring runs to lead the Bishops to a North Coast Athletic Conference win over Allegheny on Saturday in Branch Rickey Arena.

Ohio Wesleyan won the match by scores of 30-22, 30-21, 30-23.

The Bishops trailed, 2-1, in the first game when Lester posted a pair of blocks to spark a 5-0 run. Allegheny came back to within 7-6 with points by Betsy LaPorte and Cat Van Wagner, but Ohio Wesleyan responded with kills by Graf, junior middle hitter Katie Hamilton (Hilliard/Darby) and junior setter Shea Pence (Danville, Ind./Danville Community) to stretch the margin to 13-8, and made it 15-9 on another Hamilton kill and an ace by Pence. The Gators rallied to take a 17-16 lead with points by LaPorte, Cally Malone and Jenna Hackett, but once again, the Bishops had an answer, this time with Graf blasting 3 kills during a 6-2 run that gave Ohio Wesleyan a 22-19 lead. After a Gator point, the Bishops reeled off 5 straight points as Hamilton and McCoy each had a kill and assisted a block and Graf zipped a pair of service aces. Allegheny closed to 28-22 on a Van Wagner kill, but the Bishops ended the game with kills by junior middle hitter Janna Dagley (Beavercreek) and Lester.

In the second game, it was Lester again kicking off an early run with a block to break a 5-5 tie and start a 13-4 spree that also included a pair of kills by Hamilton, a kill and an ace by Pence, and kills from Lester and McCoy. LaPorte had a kill that helped Allegheny come within 18-12, but Ohio Wesleyan answered with 4 straight points that included kills by McCoy and Graf. Trailing, 24-15, the Gators sliced the deficit with 6 consecutive points, with Annie Schultheis posting a kill and Jordan Leopold serving an ace. Ohio Wesleyan answered with 6 straight points of its own to end the game, as Graf posted a kill and a block assist and Pence rang up kills on 3 of the last 4 points.

McCoy and Lester kick-started the Bishops in the third game, with McCoy recording a kill to put Ohio Wesleyan on the scoreboard, Lester following with a block and then the pair combining for a block as the Bishops wiped out a 2-0 deficit. Dagley, Graf and Lester added kills as the lead stretched to 10-4, and it was Graf, McCoy and Lester with kills as Ohio Wesleyan increased the margin to 17-8. The Bishops still led by a 21-13 margin when freshman outside hitter Carly Topper (Novi, Mich./Greenhills School), sophomore outside hitter Kristin Kovach (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) and freshman outside hitter Lainey Kekic (Canfield/Western Reserve) recorded kills to make it a 25-14 game. A Graf kill and a Pence block pushed the lead to 29-17. Allegheny put together its best run of the game, scoring the next 5 points, but the Bishops ended the match on Hamilton's block.

McCoy led the Bishops with 10 kills, while Graf finished with 9 and Pence added 8 kills and compiled a team-high 25 assists.

Lester piled up 6 blocks to pace the Bishop defense. Kovach had a team-leading 15 digs, while Graf and freshman outside hitter Alexa Bean (Columbus/Upper Arlington) added 13 digs apiece.