Wellington set Otago a mammoth victory target of 418 and Dean Foxcroft had the home side on course for a record chase.
The South African-born right-hander stroked his maiden first-class century and went on to score 159 before he was run out late in the day.
He carried Otago past 300 and the unlikely suddenly seemed plausible.
Otago’s highest successful fourth-innings runs chase was the 381 for three it managed against Canterbury in Dunedin in 2014.
Volts selector Sam Wells scored an unbeaten century and took five for 74 in that innings.
It looked like something special was brewing again until Foxcroft was caught stranded in the middle of the pitch.
It was one of three disappointing run-outs in the innings.
Otago shut down its chase after Foxcroft’s departure and batted it out for a draw.
Travis Muller stonewalled with 13 from 107 balls and Jacob Duffy held his end up with 20 from 47 balls.
Bazball it was not. But the Volts (348 for eight) avoided defeat and denied Wellington the 12 points on offer for an outright win.
Coach Dion Ebrahim described Foxcroft’s innings as one of the best he had seen at domestic level during his involvement.
"I thought the way he stuck to his game plan and kept momentum right throughout the innings was pretty special. He was still making great decisions right until the end of his innings.
"It was a special knock and probably deserved more in terms of a favourable result."
Ebrahim was disappointed with the way his side ran between the wickets, though.
"To have three run-outs in an innings is too many. It just shows there were some mental errors which the players will reflect on."
Otago resumed on 21 for one searching for the best part of 400 runs in a day.
Victory moved further away when opener Thorn Parkes was out before he could add to his overnight sore of eight.
Glenn Phillips chipped in with a breezy 47 from 28 balls and Max Chu had his promising knock of 39 cut short when he was run out.
Dale Phillips and Michael Rippon got set, adding 20 apiece.
Had anyone of those four players played a bigger role, then the record chase may have tumbled.
In the other match, Canterbury beat Northern Districts by four wickets at Seddon Park.
Set 178 for victory, opener Rhys Mariu scored 78 not out to guide his side to the win despite the best efforts of Scott Johnston, who nabbed five for 57, his maiden five-wicket bag.
Wellington
First innings 368
Otago
First innings 287
Wellington
Second innings 336 (for 7 dec)
Otago
Second innings
H Rutherford b van Beek 1
T Parkes c Johnson b Smith 8
D Foxcroft run out 159
G Phillips c sub b McPeake 47
D Phillips c McLachlan b Georgeson 20
J Gibson b McComb 5
M Rippon run out (Abbas) 20
M Chu run out 39
T Muller not out 13
J Duffy not out 20
Extras (5b, 4lb, 2w, 5nb) 16
Total (8 wickets, 107.5 overs) 348
Fall: 1-5, 2-21, 3-85, 4-129, 5-139, 6-187, 7-261, 8-324
Bowling: N Smith 26-10-72-1 (4nb), L van Beek 23.5-7-113-1 (1w), R Ravindra 18-8-25-0, K McComb 14-4-44-1, I McPeake 15-2-41-1 (1w), L Georgeson 8-0-37-1 (1w), M Abbas 3-2-7-0.
Result: Draw.
