It had been since September 17 that John Carroll volleyball had last tasted victory. Even a few extra points proved to be worth the wait.

Outside the first game, a drama filled four-set affair played out at the DeCarlo Varsity Center with John Carroll prevailing by a 25-16, 27-25, 29-31, 26-24 score in a non-conference match-up with Ohio Wesleyan.

Box Score

JCU trailed by a 14-11 score in game one but rode the net play of Kerry Fox (two kills, three blocks) to close the set on an 11-2 run.

The Blue Streaks led by a 22-17 count in the second frame, but had to go beyond regulation to fight off Ohio Wesleyan. The Battling Bishops served with a 24-23 lead but JCU survived by winning four of the final five points. Teresa Noewer served an ace for the final point.

On four different occasions in the third game, John Carroll held a five point lead but could not close out the match. The Bishops fought off six match points to emerge with a 31-29 win.

Ohio Wesleyan then threatened to extend the match to the full compliment of games, racing out to a 15-12 lead and leading as late as 24-23. But John Carroll ended the threat by winning the final three points. The big point came at 24-24, when Fox and fellow senior Laura Sudo combined on a block to set up match point.

Fox and Sarah Slagle finished with a team-high 12 kills for John Carroll, which improved to 9-13 with their first win since a 3-1 triumph over Adrian at the Carnegie-Mellon Tournament in Pittsburgh on September 17. Gina Catania had 26 assists while Fox added 23, and Jess Hammer had 18 kills to pace the Blue Streaks.