Ohio Wesleyan 3, Earlham 1

Oct. 31, 2008

Senior middle hitter Janna Dagley (Beavercreek) racked up 10 blocks and sophomore outside hitter Alexa Bean (Columbus/Upper Arlington) collected 14 kills to lead Ohio Wesleyan past Earlham in a North Coast Athletic Conference match on Friday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Ohio Wesleyan won the match by scores of 25-20, 22-25, 25-19, 25-20.

The Bishops jumped to a 5-1 lead to open the first set, with sophomore outside hitter Sam Owen (Westerly, R.I./The Prout School) providing a kill and Dagley and freshman outside hitter Sara Morris (Point White Mountain, Alaska/Mt. Edgecumbe) combining on a block along the way. Earlham came back to take the lead, reeling off 7 straight points, highlighted by kills from Keeley McAnnis-Entenman and Ramona Hemmings. The Quakers still led, 17-14, on an Andrea Thompson kill when the Bishops rallied with a 9-2 spurt highlighted by a kill and a block from Dagley and a kill and 2 service aces from Morris. Earlham closed to within 23-20 on a double hit by the Bishops, but Bean came back with a kill and a service ace to close out the set.

Ohio Wesleyan raced to an early lead in the second set as well, going up 8-3 as Bean collected a pair of kills and Owen added another. Earlham came back, with Elizabeth Ross, Hemmings, McAnnis-Entenman and Andrea Thompson contributing kills along the way, and took a 14-13 lead as McAnnis-Entenman served up 3 straight aces. The Bishops came back to tie the set at 20-20 on a tip by Bean, but Earlham got kills from Hemmings and McAnnis-Entenman down the stretch to finish out the set.

The Quakers continued that momentum into the third set, with McAnnis-Entenman providing a kill and a block assist as Earlham took an early 3-1 lead. Ohio Wesleyan came back with 7 straight points, getting kills from Morris, Bean and sophomore setter Sarah Marshall (Lima/Senior) during that run, to take a 10-5 lead. Earlham sliced the deficit to 2 points on a handful of occasions, but Bean's kill highlighted a 4-0 Ohio Wesleyan run that widened the Bishop lead to 22-16. McAnnis-Entenman had a block and a kill as Earlham came within 23-19, but sophomore outside hitter Lainey Kekic (Canfield/Western Reserve) ended that run with a well-placed tip into the heart of the Quaker defense and the Bishops got the next point to end the set.

Earlham's Nikki Darrett and McAnnis-Entenman scored during a 5-1 run that gave the Quakers a 5-3 lead in the fourth set, but Ohio Wesleyan answered with an 8-1 burst that featured a pair of aces by Owen. Thompson brought the Quakers back, pounding out 3 straight kills during one stretch, as Earlham tied the set at 13-13. The score was still tied at 17-17 when the Bishops broke the tie with 4 straight points, highlighted by Bean's kill, to take a 21-17 advantage. Earlham fought back with a kill by Ross, but a timely Dagley kill helped the Bishops win the set and end the match.

Dagley's 10 blocks equaled the third-highest performance in a 4-set match in the Bishop record books, tying the mark set by Kelli Lester last year against Denison.

Along with Bean's 14 kills, Morris finished with 5 block assists and 17 digs, while Marshall collected 29 assists and 19 digs. Junior libero Katie Schlaudt (Holland, Mich.) led the Bishops with 26 digs.