Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College volleyball team finished off a three-match weekend on Saturday, first falling to Haverford University in four sets (22-25, 22-25, 25-15, 16-25) before grinding out a five-set victory by the scores of 20-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 15-13.
The Yeowomen, who had their six-match winning streak snapped on Friday night, are now 7-2 on the year.
Haverford Recap
Andréa Jones led the attack with 15 kills to go along with 13 digs in the loss.
Cami Sweet floored eight balls, while
Zeynep Kaya turned in a strong all-around effort with seven kills, 13 digs, and a team-high five aces.
Taylor Gwynne had the offense in system, dishing out 37 assists while
Lindsey Felton led the back row with 18 digs.
Haverford had a commanding 23-15 lead in the first set but the Yeowomen wouldn't go away quietly as they scored seven of the next nine points to put some pressure back on the Fords. A run of six straight points was capped off by a
Lucy Myers ace to make it 24-22 but Haverford would finish off the set with a kill from Gabrielle Fontanilla.
Oberlin would use the momentum to build up 14-6 lead in the second set but the Fords would rally all the way back to make it 15-14 Oberlin. It was later tied at 22-22 but back-to-back Oberlin errors and a Taylor Jones kill made it a 2-0 match advantage for the visitors.
The Yeowomen would put it together in the third frame, hitting an impressive .407 in the session with 12 kills against just three errors. It was level at 10-10 at the midway point but Oberlin would take control with a 6-0 spurt en route to the 10-point victory.
It was tied 11-11 in the fourth set but the Fords would use a 6-1 run to create some significant separation and Oberlin didn't have the fire power to battle back as Haverford ended the weekend with a 2-1 record.
Chatham Recap
The Yeowomen would use a diverse attack to outlast the Cougars as three different players registered seven or more kills. Jones led the way with nine finishes, while
Iyanna Lewis and Sweet would add eight and seven kills each.
Gwynne and Myers split time distributing the ball as Gwynne tacked on 20 assists with Myers adding 14 helpers.
Senior
Zoe Kuzbari led the back row with 11 digs, while Felton added 10 in the win.
Oberlin got off to a slow start in the opening set but the Yeowomen would regroup in the second set. A kill from Lewis made it 21-17 in favor of the home side and Gwynne would follow with two straight aces to leave no doubt in the outcome.
It was nip-and-tuck throughout the third set as the score was tied at 20 but a handful of costly mistakes by the Yeowomen down the stretch allowed the Cougars to pull away for the three-point win.
Oberlin would send the match the distance with a wire-to-wire fourth-set victory to setup a dramatic winner take-all race to 15 in the fifth.
The Yeowomen appeared to be well on their way to finishing off the victory as they led 11-6 before Chatham ultimately tied in at 12-12. However, a huge kill from
Lauren Sands and a block by Jones and Sweet left Oberlin just one-point way which would come on a left-handed kill by Jones.
Oberlin is back in action on Wednesday night at Capital University. The first serve is set for 7 p.m.
