Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Allegheny 1
Otterbein 3, Ohio Wesleyan 0

Junior outside hitter Katie Fain (Vandalia/Butler) posted a pair of double-digit performaces in kills and freshman middle hitter Meigan Day (Port Clinton) set a school record as Ohio Wesleyan split a pair of matches on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

The Bishops opened the day with a 29-27, 25-17, 23-25, 25-19 win over North Coast Athletic Conference rival Allegheny, then finished the afternoon's action with a 25-23, 25-13, 25-22 loss to Otterbein.

Ohio Wesleyan built a 15-8 lead in the first set against Allegheny, with senior setter Brittany Vickers (Newark/Utica) contributing both on offense and defense and Fain, Day, and senior outside hitter Megan Weissenberger (Toledo/Central Catholic) adding kills.  Allegheny rallied to even the set at 23-23 on a block by Baylie Sheppard and Sarah Swartz, and after a pair of Swartz kills, the Gators were serving for the set with a 25-24 lead.  Junior middle hitter Tamra Londot (Utica) kept the Bishops alive with a kill, and Day did likewise with the Bishops trailing, 26-25.  With the score tied at 27, Fair reeled off a kill to put the Bishops ahead to stay, and Weeks' attack error gave Ohio Wesleyan the win.

The Gators raced to a 9-1 lead in the second set, with Julia Weeks racking up a pair of kills and Catherine Kasianowicz serving a pair of aces during that spree.  Allegheny still led, 15-13, after an Allison Unger kill when the Bishops reeled off the next 5 points to take the lead, highlighted by a pair of Day kills and another from Fain.  Allegheny closed to within 19-17 on a Weeks kill, but Weissenberger collected 3 kills as Ohio Wesleyan scored the final 6 points to finish off the set, with Londot, Weissenberger, and Vickers combining for a set-ending block.

Allegheny built a lead again in the third set, going on a 9-3 burst to turn a 7-6 advantage into a 16-9 lead as Weeks had 3 kills and a block.  The Gators still led, 23-17, when the Bishops made a run, with Weissenberger blasting a kill and then serving 5 straight points to tie things up at 23.  The Gators took the lead on Fain's attack error, however, and Sheppard followed with a kill to give the third set to the visitors.

The fourth set was another barnburner, with neither team leading by more than 3 points.  Trailing, 16-13, the Bishops took charge with a 7-0 burst that included a pair of kills by Day along with kills from Fain and Weissenberger.  The Gators closed to within 23-19, but kills from Londot and senior middle hitter Ashley Haynes (Norton) finished off the match.

Day led the Bishops with 15 kills and 10 blocks, with her 10 block assists breaking the school record of 8 in a 4-set match set by Melissa Hill against Kenyon on Sept. 22, 2001.  Weissenberger added 14 kills, and Fain collected 13.  Vickers had 49 assists.  Freshman libero Danielle Birney (Sylvania/Southview) had a team-best 24 digs.  Ohio Wesleyan's total of 33 block assists broke the school record of 24, also set against Kenyon on Sept. 22, 2001.

Against Otterbein, the Bishops jumped to a 5-1 lead as Day, Fain, and Weissenberger had kills, and Ohio Wesleyan still led, 12-8, before the Cardinals came back to take a 16-15 lead on Michelle Gernert's kill.  Ohio Wesleyan bounced back with kills from Haynes, Fain, and Day to take a 22-19 lead, but Kristen Bennett collected 3 kills down the stretch as Otterbein went on a 6-1 run to end the set.

The Cardinals used a 6-2 run in the second set to turn an 11-7 lead into a 17-9 advantage, with a pair of Kim Barker kills the highlight, and Otterbein pushed the margin to 23-12 with the help of a Krystin Estes kill before Bennett ended the set with a kill.

The Bishops broke a 4-4 tie in the third set as Vickers supplied a kill and a service ace, and pushed the lead to 9-4 on a Haynes kill.  Ohio Wesleyan still led, 18-15, on a Vickers kill when the Cardinals assembled an 8-1 run that saw a pair of kills from Gernert.  Vickers smashed a kill that helped Ohio Wesleyan rally to within 23-22, but Bennett bounced back with back-to-back kills to end the match.

Fain led the Ohio Wesleyan offense with 10 kills, while Vickers had 24 assists.  Birney led the Bishop defense with 14 digs.

Ohio Wesleyan-Allegheny Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan-Otterbein Box Score