Wooster 3, Ohio Wesleyan 0
Otterbein 3, Ohio Wesleyan 2

Sept. 4, 2009

Senior outside hitter Kristin Kovach (Chagrin Falls/Kenston), junior middle hitter Lainey Kekic (Canfield/Western Reserve), and freshman outside hitter Meg Weissenberger (Toledo/Central Catholic) led Ohio Wesleyan on the first day of its annual Bishop Invitational on Friday at Branch Rickey Arena.
Bishop Invitational schedule and results

Wooster defeated Ohio Wesleyan in its first match of the day by scores of 25-14, 25-22, 25-19. The Bishops came back later and took a 2-sets-to-1 lead but saw Otterbein rally to win in 5 sets by scores of 25-18, 25-27, 22-25, 25-17, 15-7.

Wooster took an early 12-2 lead in the first set of the opening match, getting a pair of kills and a block by KateLynn Riley. Ohio Wesleyan got back into the set by reeling off 4 straight points, highlighted by a kill from Weissenberger and an ace by junior outside hitter Alexa Bean (Columbus/Upper Arlington) that made it 12-6, but the Bishops would not come closer than that 6-point margin.

Ohio Wesleyan trailed by as many as 5 points during the second set, but kills from Kovach, junior setter Sarah Marshall (Lima/Senior), and Weissenberger helped spark an 8-1 run that gave the Bishops a 19-17 lead. Ohio Wesleyan still led, 22-20, on a kill by Weissenberger, but Wooster scored the next 5 points to take the set, with Riley recording a pair of kills and Erin Webster finishing matters with a pair of aces.

In the third set, the Bishops closed to within 11-10 on a kill by Kekic, but Wooster responded with a 6-2 run capped by a Melissa Morgan kill, and the Fighting Scots were able to maintain the lead for the remainder of the set.

Weissenberger led Ohio Wesleyan with 8 kills, while Kekic, Marshall, and Kovach added 5 apiece. Marshall also contributed 18 assists. Defensive standouts included freshman middle hitter Ashley Haynes (Norton) and freshman middle hitter Hannah Benzing (Findlay/Liberty Benton), who shared the team lead with 2 blocks apiece; and Kovach, who led the Bishops with 13 digs.

Against Otterbein, the Bishops pared an early deficit to a single point as Weissenberger had a pair of kills and Marshall another to bring Ohio Wesleyan within 13-12, but the Cardinals responded with a 9-1 run and went on to take the set.

The Cardinals were in position to win the second set, scoring 3 straight points to take a 24-20 lead only to see Ohio Wesleyan storm back to take the lead. Kekic ripped a kill to keep the set going, and after an Otterbein error, Marshall recorded a kill and Haynes and Benzing combined on a block to tie the set at 24-24. Weissenberger followed with a kill to give the Bishops a 25-24 lead, but Otterbein kept the set going as Ally Nagle tipped the ball over the Bishop front line. Weissenberger responded with a tip of her own to give the Bishops the lead, and Kovach blasted a kill to finish off the set and even the match at a set apiece.

Ohio Wesleyan came up with another late rally in the third set. After play which was almost literally back-and-forth, Otterbein scored 5 straight points to take a 20-17 lead -- the biggest lead by either team in the match. The Bishops rallied with a point from Marshall and a pair of Kekic kills, and after Otterbein tied the set at 22-22, it was Kekic and Weissenberger paving the way with kills as Ohio Wesleyan scored the last 3 points.

The fourth set saw the Bishops get early points from Kekic and Kovach, but the Cardinals broke a 4-4 tie with a 10-3 run and went on to win the set and force a winner-take-all fifth set. Otterbein continued its momentum in the fifth set, scoring the first 4 points with the help of kills by Nagle, Michelle Gernert and Alicia Chafins and got 2 more kills from Nagle on the way to a 7-2 lead. The Bishops battled back to within 11-7 as Kovach and Weissenberger scored points, but that was as close as Ohio Wesleyan would come.

Weissenberger and Kovach shared the Bishop lead with 16 kills apiece, with Kekic right behind with 14 kills. Marshall dished out a season-high 44 assists, while Haynes piled up 5 block assists and Bean had a team-high 20 digs.

The Bishop Invitational continues on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena, with matches beginning at 10 a.m.

Wooster Box Score
Otterbein Box Score