Sports
Ohio Volleyball Loses to Louisville in Home Opener
By: Sara Nealeigh
Posted on:
The Bobcats battled the Louisville Cardinals at home Friday night. The Cardinals beat Ohio 3-1 and gave the Bobcats their third straight loss.
The Bobcats came out of warm – ups strong and took the first set, but the next three sets were lost. Lola Arslanbekova led the Cardinals in attacks, earning 18 total kills in the game. Caitlin Welch took away the most digs for Louisville, with a total of 22. For the Bobcats, Kelly Lamberti scored 13 kills, while Chelsea Bilger stood out in the back row with 25 digs. Ohio finished the first set 25-23, after a struggle to close the final points. Big hits from the front row contributed to the close finish.
The second set began as a close match – but Louisville began to pull away, scoring 7 straight points in an 11-1 run. Small but costly mistakes were made by Ohio, including 2 service errors, and allowing Louisville to dominate the game at the net. Late in the set, the Bobcats started a “one point at a time” push to hold Louisville at 23. The Cardinals took the second set 25-15. The Bobcats came back strong for the beginning of the third set, but couldn’t maintain a solid lead.
The match remained close, but Kelly Lamberti also started the set strong with a couple scoring hits to boost the energy on the Ohio side. The team fought to win huge rally, ending with a closing hit by Chelsea Bilger. Most of the match went back and forth, the momentum not really sticking with one team. Both teams hit hard and fast from the net, and the back rows were able to keep balls in play that had been a struggle in the previous match. Louisville snagged the match, 25-22.
The fourth set started off slow with frustrating errors in the front & back rows. The score remained close, again, neither team could keep the momentum. Louisville eventually began to pull away with a 6-point lead. The Bobcats couldn’t catch up, even after clenching another big rally point, and the Cardinals take the match 25-19. Louisville wins the night 3-1. The Bobcats continue the Baymont Invitational, hosted at Ohio University, with a game against Marshall on Saturday.