Ksenia Klue

WOOSTER, Ohio - The College of Wooster volleyball team rallied back to tie the match at two in the fourth set, but DePauw University took the five-set thriller 19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 18-25, 15-9 on Saturday afternoon at Timken Gymnasium.

Wooster (13-5, 2-3 North Coast Athletic Conference) never trailed in the first set, as a kill and a solo block by senior Lydia Webster quickly set the tone. Two follow-up kills from classmate Anna Emmick helped extend the lead to 9-4. Later, Webster pushed the lead to six at 15-9, and then a block from Emmick and junior Taylor Mathews, and a kill from senior Megan Mey enabled the Scots to open up seven-point leads at 20-13 and 21-14.

Wooster was right there with DePauw (15-3, 4-0 NCAC), a team that entered the week receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association, early in the second set. The Scots closed within three at 11-8 on a kill from junior Ksenia Klue and at 12-9 after a Webster kill. DePauw countered with a 3-0 run, and really pulled away late in the frame when back-to-back kills from Elisabeth Wilson made it a seven-point Tiger advantage at 23-16.

The third set shifted momentum late with the Tigers squeaking out a 25-22 win. A DePauw service error followed by an attack error tied the set up at 20, and then Wooster sent the ensuing serve out of bounds, giving the lead back to DePauw. Back-to-back kills from Morgan Stearly closed out the set for DePauw.

In the fourth set, Wooster had a big boost from its front line as Klue and Webster combined for 11 kills, and the Scots hit .419 overall in the frame. In that fame, Wooster raced out to a 7-1 lead after Klue connected on back-to-back kills. Then, a kill from Mathews opened up a 17-9 lead, and Wooster added a 4-0 run with Klue at the service line to extend its lead to double-digits.

DePauw clicked in the fifth set with an 8-0 run to open up a 10-3 run. Webster ended the rally with consecutive blocks to spark a 5-2 stretch by Wooster, and the Scots pulled within four at 12-8, but the Tigers kept the Scots at bay the rest of the set.

Klue posted her first double-double of the afternoon with 15 kills and 10 digs, and Mathews joined her in the double-double column with 35 assists and 12 digs. Webster added 14 kills and three blocks on the afternoon.

Stearly paced DePauw with 26 kills, while hitting .442 on the afternoon.

Next, Wooster travels to Illinois Institute of Technology (9-11) for a 6 p.m. EDT match on Tuesday.