Richmond, Indiana - It was a heartbreaking day for the Oberlin Volleyball team as they dropped five-set matches to conference rivals Allegheny and Wooster on the first day of the 2009 NCAC Earlham play date.

Against Allegheny, Oberlin started slow dropping the first game to the Gators 25-20.  The Yeowomen came back with a vengence though and won a convincing second game 25-13.  Oberlin continued rolling along in the third game with a dominating 25-14 win.  Despite a 2-1 lead Oberlin was unable to finish the match as they dropped the last two games by a combined fourteen points.  Junior Maggie Jacobson stood out for the Yeowomen as she laced four aces in the match.

In the second match of the day Oberlin was looking to avenge an earlier season five-set defeat at the hands of the Scots of the College of Wooster.  Oberlin drew first blood, winning a close opening game 25-23.  Wooster bounced back and used a late run to even the score with a 25-19 win.  The third game once again belong to Oberlin as they regrouped with a steller game that ended in their favor 25-18.

Once again Oberlin failed to put the match away.  In a moment of deja vu, Wooster won both of the final two games to win the match 3-2.

First-year Rosie Eck was among the leaders for Oberlin as she tallied back-to-back games with double-digit kills.  Fellow first-year Laura Jessee led the way against Wooster hitting .409, and Rita Kaplon passed very well with 48 assists.

Head Coach Carey Cavanaugh said of the performance, "Obviously we are disappointed with today's results, but we are right on the cusp of being an outstanding team.  When we are sharp we are not just good, we are really good and that is fun to see.  We have proven that we can play with the upper eschelon of our league, the next step for us is to dig deep and find the killer instinct to help us close these matches out."

Oberlin (11-13, 4-6 NCAC) has played ten five-set matches this season and has a record of 3-7 in those matches, and only 1-4 in conference play.  

The Yeowomen will be back in action tomorrow against conference foes Earlham and Wittenberg.