Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College volleyball team earned its first North Coast Athletic Conference victory of the season, downing the visiting Denison University Big Red in four sets on Tuesday night at Philips Gym.
 
The Yeowomen won the first game 25-19 before dropping the second 25-23. However, Oberlin regrouped to take the next two games by the scores of 26-24 and 25-22.
 
The victory marked Oberlin's first triumph over the Big Red since October 10, 2009 when they prevailed in four sets at Philips Gym.
 
Junior Lexi Mitchell continued her impressive string of play, registering over 20 kills for the fifth time in the last seven matches as she sent downed 24 balls on 48 swings for a .375 clip. The Fort Mill, South Carolina, native also added season-highs in digs (23) and aces (6).
 
Maura Gibbs added 13 kills to the Oberlin attack, while first-year Emery Beacom chipped in with 11 kills and three block assists from the middle.
 
Sara Chang dished out 31 assists to accompany a pair of aces and 12 digs, while fellow setter Samantha Lam added 21 helpers to go along with six digs. Senior Emily Kelkar recorded 20 digs, marking the second match in a row and third time this season she has reached that mark.
 
The Yeowomen set the tone of the match from the onset, breaking open what had been a tight opening stanza to earn the six-point victory. Four straight Oberlin points put the Yeowomen up 22-18, and kills by Maura Gibbs and Chang paired with a game-clinching ace from Lam finished the job.
 
The second set was nip-and-tuck throughout as it was tied at 22, but the Big Red found a way to score three of the next four points of the game to even the match at 1-1.
 
Oberlin built up a big 15-8 advantage in the third, but the Big Red came roaring back to grab a 19-18 lead and no more than one point would separate the two foes to the very end. Facing match point down 24-23, a Denison attack error gave Oberlin new life. Following a rotation violation on the Big Red, the Yeowomen were able to secure the victory on a kill by Mitchell.
 
In the match-clinching fourth-set victory, Oberlin held an early 11-10 advantage, but would eventually build up a 19-14 lead on a Natasha Radic kill. Denison would shrink the Yeowomen cushion down to two at 23-21 and 24-22, but the Yeowomen wouldn't be denied as Mitchell's 24^th kill completed the victory.
 
Oberlin hit .208 for the match, registering 62 kills compared to Denison's 48 and a .184 hitting percentage. OC also finished with a 12-5 advantage in aces while total blocks were even at eight.
 
The win ran Oberlin's record to 7-13 overall and 1-5 in the NCAC, while Denison fell back to 7-12 and 2-3 in league play.
 
The Yeowomen will conclude their home schedule on Saturday afternoon as they welcome the DePauw University Tigers to town for a 1 p.m. showdown.