Denison 3, Ohio Wesleyan 1

Freshman outside hitter Meg Weissenberger (Toledo/Central Catholic) posted a double-digit performance in kills, but Denison rallied for a North Coast Athletic Conference win over Ohio Wesleyan on Tuesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Denison won the match by scores of 23-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-15.

In the first set, neither team led by more than 2 points until Ohio Wesleyan broke a 17-17 tie by reeling off 4 straight points, capped by kills from freshman middle hitter Ashley Haynes (Norton) and senior outside hitter Kristin Kovach (Chagrin Falls/Kenston). Denison answered with kills from Sara Mason and Morgan Early, and a pair of kills by Morgan Sturgeon and one from Kristin Hughes gave the Big Red a 23-22 lead. After a Bishop timeout, Ohio Wesleyan responded with kills by junior middle hitter Lainey Kekic (Canfield/Western Reserve) and Weissenberger before Kovach zipped a service ace to end the set.

The Big Red held a 7-5 lead in the second set, getting 3 kills from Lauren Strowder and 2 by Early, then took off on a 14-4 run that included 3 kills apiece from Early and Mason. Ohio Wesleyan rallied, putting together a 6-1 burst that featured a kill and a block assist by Haynes and kills from Weissenberger and Kovach to cut the deficit to 22-15, but Denison scored the last 3 points to even the match at a set apiece.

Ohio Wesleyan raced to a 5-1 lead in the third set, with Kekic contributing a kill, a solo block and a block assist along the way. The Big Red came back to tie the set at 7-7 on Mason's kill, but the Bishops bounced back to build a 15-12 lead on back-to-back blasts by freshman middle hitter Hannah Benzing (Findlay/Liberty Benton). Denison scored the next 7 points, with Sturgeon contributing a pair of kills, but Ohio Wesleyan rallied once again, pulling even at 19-19 as freshman libero Madison Stofcheck (Richwood/North Union) rifled a service ace. The set was still tied at 23-23 after kills by Early and Weissenberger, but Denison got the next point to pull ahead, and ended the set on Strowder's kill.

Denison took an early 4-1 lead in the fourth set with the help of another Strowder kill. Kills by Kovach and Benzing helped Ohio Wesleyan close within 12-10, but a 5-1 Denison run helped the Big Red open up the lead. Haynes and Benzing recorded back-to-back kills to cut the deficit to 17-13, but Denison went on another 5-1 run and got kills from Strowder and Sturgeon down the stretch to end the match.

Weissenberger led the Bishops with 12 kills, while Kovach finished with 9 and Kekic added 7. Junior setter Sarah Marshall (Lima/Senior) dished out a team-high 19 assists.

Defensive leaders for Ohio Wesleyan included Haynes and Benzing, each recording 4 block assists; Weissenberger, who had 17 digs; and Kovach, Stofcheck, and junior outside hitter Alexa Bean (Columbus/Upper Arlington), with 15 digs apiece.

Box Score