Ohio Wesleyan 3, Kenyon 0

Senior outside hitter Kristin Kovach (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) and freshman outside hitter Meg Weissenberger (Toledo/Central Catholic) turned in double-digit performances in kills to lead Ohio Wesleyan over Kenyon in a North Coast Athletic Conference match on Wednesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Ohio Wesleyan won the match by scores of 25-18, 25-10, 25-18.

The teams traded points to start the first set, with the score tied 4 times before Kenyon took a 9-7 lead on a kill by Crystal Piras. Ohio Wesleyan then reeled off 7 straight points, with freshman middle hitter Ashley Haynes (Norton), Kovach, and junior setter Sarah Marshall (Lima/Senior) collecting kills along the way. Kenyon rallied to within 15-14 with the help of kills by Laura Harris and Sophia Khan, but the Bishops bounced back with a pair of kills from junior middle hitter Lainey Kekic (Canfield/Western Reserve) and another by Weissenberger to extend the lead to 19-14. The Ladies cut the deficit to 20-17 on a Harris kill, but Ohio Wesleyan then went on a 5-1 burst to end the set, with Haynes and Kovach supplying a kill apiece.

The Bishops raced to an 11-2 lead to open the second set, with Weissenberger delivering a pair of kills and Kovach, Kekic, and freshman middle hitter Hannah Benzing (Findlay/Liberty Benton) adding one apiece. Ohio Wesleyan led by as much as 20-6, that point coming on a block by Kekic and Kovach, and got a Weissenberger kill down the stretch to take a 2-sets-to-none lead in the match.

Ohio Wesleyan got off to another fast start in the third set, with junior outside hitter Alexa Bean (Columbus/Upper Arlington) zipping a service ace to open play, Marshall adding a kill, and Weissenberger and Kekic combining on a pair of blocks to help the Bishops take a 7-1 lead. The Ladies rallied to within 9-7 with the help of kills from Mary Myers, Maggie Taylor, and Harris, and were still within 15-12 after a Kelly Heilman ace and another Taylor kill. Ohio Wesleyan held off the threat, collecting kills from Kekic, Weissenberger, Haynes, and Kovach down the stretch to seal the set and the match.

Kovach led the Bishops with 13 kills, while Weissenberger finished with 11 kills. Marshall compiled 35 assists and contributed 7 digs on the defensive end.

Kekic led the Bishops with 8 blocks, with her 7 block assists tying for third place on the Ohio Wesleyan single-match list. Weissenberger added 3 blocks and Bean led the Bishops with 15 digs.

Box Score