Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College women's volleyball team extend its winning streak to four, earning a four-set victory over the visiting John Carroll University Blue Streaks on Wednesday night at Philips Gym.
The Yeowomen took the first set in tight fashion 25-23 before stumbling in the second with a 25-14 loss. However, Oberlin bounced back to win the next two games by the scores of 25-16 and 25-23.
Oberlin is now 9-3 on the year and will look for its first double-digit win season since 2014 when it returns to action this weekend.
An attacking trio of
Maura Gibbs,
Dana Thomas, and
Lexi Mitchell led the Oberlin charge as they combined for 47 kills. Mitchell guided the way with 17, while Gibbs and Thomas each added 15. Thomas was near perfect on the night as she hit .636 with just one error on 22 swings.
Sophomore
Samantha Lam added a career-best 51 assists to go along with 11 digs, while junior
Emily Kelkar paced a 63-dig effort by the team with 20 in the match.
Sara Chang chipped in with three aces and seven kills to aid the winning effort.
The opening set was nip-and-tuck throughout as the score was tied at 23 with John Carroll serving, but back-to-back finishes by Thomas and Mitchell gave Oberlin the win.
After a subpar set second, the Yeowomen regained control in the third as they hit .394 in the stanza with 17 kills and just four errors on 33 attempts. Mitchell had eight of her kills in the game as she hit at a .500 clip.
Oberlin would face some adversity in the fourth set as the Blue Streaks rallied from a 14-0 deficit to claim a 20-18 lead. Later trailing 22-20, a JCU service error and kill by Thomas would even the count and the game would eventually end on a Blue Streaks' attack error.
The win avenges last season's straight-set loss to the Blue Streaks and drops their record to 3-10 on the season.
Oberlin will have its toughest test to date as it opens conference play against the nation's No. 1 ranked team, Wittenberg, on Saturday at noon. The Yeowomen will then battle Muskingum at 2 p.m.
