COLUMBUS - The Capital University volleyball team captured its fifth victory in its last six matches, as the Crusaders defeated Ohio Wesleyan, 3-2, in comeback fashion on Tuesday night at the Capital Center.

Capital fell behind 2-0 early on through the first two sets of the match, dropping the intial set 25-16, followed by a 25-22 defeat in set two.

However, the Crusaders then mounted a major rally beginning in the third set, jumping out to a 16-10 advantage over the Battling Bishops, eventually winning their first set of the match at 25-15.

The Crusaders then began the fourth set with an 11-6 lead over Ohio Wesleyan, inflating their lead to as many as six points, before tying the match at two sets apiece with a 25-21 set victory.

With the match tied at two sets apiece, both teams took a slim lead over one another, only to trade points through the middle points of the fifth and final set. Capital then regained the lead at 15-14, prompting an Ohio Wesleyan timeout.

Following the timeout, the Battling Bishops again tied the score at 15 points apiece, only to again surrender the lead, as the Crusaders tallied the final two points to win the set at 17-15.

Leading the way for Capital was sophomore Courtney McCracken (Newark, Ohio), who led the team with 16 kills, while also posting 16 digs.

Classmates Kristin Bender (Fremont, Ohio) and Hanna Ewart (Wichita, Kan.) followed with 10 kills apiece, while Bender tallied Capital's lone solo block on the night.

Fellow sophomore Mona Ratliff (South Charleston, Ohio) also added a match-high seven block assists, to go along with six kills and four digs. 

Senior Kelly Leonard (Cincinnati, Ohio) recorded a match-high 34 digs and a pair of service aces, while junior Katie Weilbacher (Grove City, Ohio) posted a team-high 32 assists, 12 digs, and one service ace.

A total of four Crusader players recorded at least 10 digs in the win.

With the victory, Capital (7-8 overall) is now set to travel to Bluffton University for the Ohio Athletic Conference-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Crossover on Sept. 19-20. 

The Crusaders are scheduled to face Bluffton at 2 p.m. and Mount St. Joseph at 6 p.m. on Friday, followed by matches against Hanover (Ind.) and Transylvania (Ky.) on Saturday.