Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College volleyball team honored its three senior members prior to the first serve and went on to earn a 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 24-26, 25-14) victory over the St. Vincent College Bearcats on Saturday afternoon at Philips Gym.
 
Seniors Lauren Fitts, Kiki Widran, and Natasha Radic each contributed in the victory, helping Oberlin run its record to 9-8 overall.
 
Sophomore Andrea Jones led the Yeowomen with 15 kills on 47 attempts, while first-year Natalie Dufour continued her strong play by hitting .429 with 14 finishes against just two errors on 28 swings, producing a game-high 17.5 points by adding 3.5 blocks. Radic chipped in nine kills to go along with three block assists for 12.5 points, while Cami Sweet contributed eight kills and 2.5 denials.
 
Oberlin opened up an 11-3 lead in the first set and appeared to be well on its way to an easy win but the Bearcats took advantage of a plethora of Oberlin miscues to grab a 21-19 late in the frame. Thankfully, the Yeowomen would respond as a pair of Dufour kills sandwiched around an ace from Taylor Gwynne put Oberlin out in front for good before Jones hammered home the clinching point.
 
The Yeowomen trailed 9-5 in the early going of set two but would eventually rally to claim a 15-14 lead on a thunderous kill from Iyanna Lewis. It was later tied at 20-20 but a string of three straight points that featured kills from Jones and an ace from Sweet gave them breathing room. The Bearcats would trim the deficit down to one, 24-23, but a send-down from Lewis would finish the job.
 
Oberlin led 22-19 in the third but couldn't make it stand up as the Bearcats erased a 24-22 shortcoming with four consecutive points to extend the match. However, the Yeowomen responded well as they jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the fourth and never looked back to secure the victory.
 
As a team the Yeowomen racked up 55 kills with Gwynne assisting on 49 of them to accompany her team-high four aces.
 
The Yeowomen return to action on Wednesday night at Wooster.