Oberlin, Ohio - The Oberlin College volleyball team turned in its best performance of the season, knocking off the visiting Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops in straight sets (25-21, 25-15, 25-23) on Friday night at Philips Gym.
Oberlin got off to a hot start and never let up with junior
Zeynep Kaya leading the way with 16.5 points. The Istanbul, Turkey native stuffed the stat sheet with 11 kills on 21 swings for a .476 clip and added four aces, five digs, and three block assists in addition to going error-free on 20 service receptions.
The trio of
Evelyn Welton,
Natalie Dufour, and
Julia Hall each added six kills, while
Josie Macdonald led the way with five aces.
Jillian Jendsen (18) and
Genna Gauthier (12) combined for 30 assists, while
Iris Archibald led the back row with 15 digs.
Oberlin jumped all over the Bishops from the onset, opening up set one with an 8-0 barrage that featured three aces from Macdonald. OWU would settle in and methodically work its way back into the session and would eventually take a 16-15 lead on a Jenna Ashbrook kill. However, the Yeowomen would regroup and go back out in front for good just two points later before pulling away for the early match advantage.
Oberlin rode that momentum into the second set, racing out to an 11-4 lead to force a Bishops' timeout following an ace from Kaya. The margin would only swell from there as a Jendsen ace ballooned the cushion out to 18-7 to leave little doubt in the eventual outcome.
The third session was much more closely contested with the Bishops holding the advantage for the bulk of it until a late Oberlin charge propelled them to the victory. The Yeowomen trailed 15-10 but wouldn't go away quietly, rallying to tie the set at 21-21 on a
Cami Sweet kill. After going back down by one, Oberlin claimed the lead with three straight points that were bookended by a kill and ace from Kaya to leave them just one point away from the win that would come just moments later in the form of a Hall kill.
Oberlin out-hit OWU .222 to .139 and finished with an 11-3 differential in service aces.
The win ran the Yeowomen's record to 3-11 overall and 1-1 in the NCAC, while the Bishops fell back to 10-8 and 1-1 in league play.
Oberlin will step back out of conference on Tuesday night when it hosts Ohio Christian University at 7 p.m.
