Junior Deysi Villarreal and first-year Marissa Hausler look to block a Hiram shot this afternoon

October 14, 2006 -- The Oberlin volleyball team hosted a tri-match this afternoon against Hiram College and Thiel College (Pa.) at Phillips Gymnasium. Head Coach Carey Cavanaugh's Yeowomen fought valiantly, but lost both matches (0-3 to Hiram and 2-3 to Thiel) to fall to 5-17 overall and 0-11 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

In the opener against a strong Hiram squad, Oberlin was defeated in three games, 12-30, 20-30, and 14-30. Senior Rose Garrett and sophomore Caitlin Donnelly led the Yeowomen's attack against the Terriers by racking up five kills a piece. First-year Tammela Platt had 24 digs in the NCAC defeat.

The Yeowomen lost a heartbreaker in the second match of the day against the Thiel Tomcats. After dropping the first game 23-30, Oberlin rallied back to earn a 30-28 victory in the second game. Thiel responded by taking the third game 30-24, but Oberlin rebounded again to earn a 30-27 win in the fourth set. The Tomcats out-scored Oberlin 15-9 in the finale, though, to pick up the non-conference win.

Against Thiel, Oberlin was led offensively by junior Deysi Villarreal, who racked up 17 kills in the five games. Platt once again paced the team in digs, tallying 31 for the match. Also leading the Yeowomen against the Tomcats were Donnelly and first-year Rita Kaplon, who accumulated 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Kaplon added a team-best five services aces on 18 attempts as well. Villarreal and sophomore Elizabeth Segroves both had six block assists against Thiel.

Oberlin will look to get back on the winning track when it visits Wittenberg University for a NCAC contest on October 20. The match against the Tigers is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.

Hiram Box | Thiel Box | Photographs