Allegheny 3, Ohio Wesleyan 0

Oct. 11, 2008

Junior outside hitter Kristin Kovach (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) turned in a double-digit effort in kills, but Allegheny won 3 close sets and escaped Branch Rickey Arena with a North Coast Athletic Conference win over the Bishops on Saturday.

The Gators won the match by scores of 29-27, 25-21, 25-22.

Allegheny appeared to be off to the races in the first set, overcoming a 2-1 deficit with a 9-2 spurt that included a kill and a block by Laura Gaudreau and a kill by Cat Van Wagner. The Gators still led, 17-9, after a tip by Caitlin Solan before Ohio Wesleyan rallied, closing to within 18-16 on 3 straight kills by Kovach and tying the set at 20-20 with the help of kills by sophomore middle hitter Stacey Tighe (Lewis Center/Olentangy) and Kovach. Ohio Wesleyan tied the set at 21-21 on a kill by senior middle hitter Janna Dagley (Beavercreek), at 22-22 on a kill by sophomore outside hitter Alexa Bean (Columbus/Upper Arlington), and trailing, 24-23, stayed alive with a tip by sophomore setter Sarah Marshall (Lima/Senior). Marshall and sophomore outside hitter Lainey Kekic (Canfield/Western Reserve) kept the Bishops alive, providing kills that tied the score at 26-26 and 27-27, but a Bishop serve into the net and an Allegheny tip ended the set at 29-27.

The Gators raced to a 5-1 lead to open the second set, with Van Wagner and Jordan Leopold contributing kills, but Ohio Wesleyan rallied behind a kill from Bean to even the score at 6-6 and eventually took a 12-11 lead with the help of kills by Kekic and Kovach. The Bishop picked up kills by Kovach, Dagley and Bean before Dagley's block assist tied the set at 19-19. Allegheny responded with a kill by Caileigh Hughes and an ace from Lindsey McClement to take the lead for good, picked up a point on a block by Amanda Bancroft and Van Wagner, and ended the set with consecutive kills from Leopold.

It was Ohio Wesleyan that ran off to a 5-1 lead in the third set, with Kovach contributing a pair of kills and Kekic adding a kill and an ace. But just as the Bishops did in the second set, the Gators answered with a 5-1 run to tie the score at 6-6, getting a pair of kills from Hughes along the way. Ohio Wesleyan tied the set at 15-15 on Dagley's kill, but the Gators scored the next 5 points, including points from Bancroft and Van Wagner, to take a 20-15 lead. Junior libero Katie Schlaudt (Holland, Mich.) helped rally the Bishops with an ace, Kekic and Kovach combined on a block that brought Ohio Wesleyan within 21-20, and a kill by Kekic and an ace from Marshall evened the score at 22-22. Allegheny countered with the next 3 points and ended the match on Solan's ace.

Kovach led the Bishops with 12 kills, while Bean finished with 9, Dagley added 7 and Kekic contributed 6. Marshall had 33 assists for Ohio Wesleyan. Defensively, Dagley led the way with 3 blocks and Schlaudt had 19 digs.