Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College volleyball team turned in a commanding four-set victory on Friday night, topping the visiting Albion College Britons 25-20, 25-18, 19-25, and 27-25.
 
Junior Lexi Mitchell continued her strong offensive play with 22 kills on 51 swings as she hit .275 on the night to accompany her 15 digs. Rookie Emery Beacom was also a force in the middle with 14 kills on just 26 attempts for a .308 clip. Jaya Flynn-Young and Natasha Radic added seven kills each in the triumph.
 
Sara Chang handled the setting duties, dishing out 46 assists while dropping in five of the Yeowomen's 11 aces. Maura Gibbs also poured in three aces and scooped up 13 digs. Emily Kelkar steadied the back row with 17 digs.
 
In the opening set, Oberlin jumped on the Britons as they just finished off a 3-0 sweep of John Carroll University early in the evening. The Yeowomen grabbed a 15-5 lead, but had to fend off a Briton charge that got them within two points at 22-20. However, a Flynn-Young kill was coupled with two Albion errors to give the Yeowomen the early advantage.
 
In the second set the Yeowomen were facing an 8-3 deficit but a 5-0 run that featured three straight aces from Gibbs evened the score at 8-8. The Yeowomen were later clinging to a 19-18 margin but would finish off the game on a 6-0 burst that featured three aces from Chang. In total, Oberlin had seven aces in the stanza.
 
The Yeowomen never threatened in the third but recovered in the fourth to avoid having to go to a decisive fifth set. Oberlin held a 10-4 advantage, but the Britons came roaring back to grab an 18-17 cushion and no more than one point would separate the two foes till the very end. With the game square at 25 and Albion serving, Gibbs setup Oberlin with match point with a kill and Samantha Lam finished the job with a match-clinching ace.
 
The victory snapped a six-match skid for the Yeowomen as they moved to 5-12 on the year.
 
Oberlin had 58 kills and hit .229 in the win compared to Albion's 41 kills and .176 clip. Albion did finish with a slight 8-6 edge in total blocks but had just five aces in the setback that dropped them to 11-9.
 
The Yeowomen are back in action at Philips Gym tomorrow afternoon as they take on John Carroll University at 12 p.m. and Adrian College at 4 p.m.