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Lamberti Lifts Ohio Over San Diego State


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The Ohio University volleyball team found itself down 1-0 after the first set of play, but rallied back to defeat San Diego State University 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-22) on Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

“The ability to keep composure was important,” said first-year head coach Deane Webb, whose team lost earlier in the day to No. 17 ranked Hawaii. “We lost the first set and had to come back after that. It can be tough. You lose that first set and not know what you have or what you’re made of. That second set was one of the best that we’ve played.”

The pivotal second set was defined, in large part, by Aztec attack errors and effective blocking by Karin Bull and Abby Gilleland. The duo had four double blocks in the set and combined for nine of the team’s 13 blocks for the match, with Bull recording a match-high five. Kills by Kelly Lamberti sealed two of the sets final three points to tie the series at one.

Late in the third and the fourth sets, Ohio was able to capitalize off of Aztec errors and put together energized runs behind the net play of Lamberti.

Lamberti led the way for the Bobcats all night, collecting a season-high 22 kills and 10 digs for her first double -double of the year and 50th of her career.

“It didn’t surprise me,” Webb said of his 2013 American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America Honorable Mention selection. “She’s obviously an outstanding player and had a rough night the first night. Everyone’s going to have off nights. She went out and just played great and served well. She definitely came back out and was a huge key to our win.”

Freshman outside hitter Jaime Kosiorek had a stand-out night in her second game at the collegiate level, collecting 10 kills and showing she has the mentality and skill set to make errors into points.

“She really made some good decisions,” Webb said. “She was able to attack and be effective out of system. She not only took those unforced errors away and made them attacks, sometimes she took those unforced errors away and made them kills. That’s just the growing up that she’s doing, and it’s happening before our eyes. She’s going to be a dynamic player.”

With the first win of the season out of the way, coach Webb is using this milestone as motivation to push his team toward continued success in the future.

“Every year, every team is kind of figuring out who they are and how good they’re going to be,” Webb said. “You need some milestones or markers allowing the way. Every step is important and this was the first step.”

The Bobcats will take on No. 25 Arizona State University (2-0) Sunday at 9 p.m. eastern time in their closing match of the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational.