Sports
Ohio Falls In Four To No. 10 Kentucky
By: Joshua Yost
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Friday, Ohio began a tough weekend playing host for the Baymont Invitational Tournament. The Bobcats dropped their first home match of the season against the 10th ranked Kentucky Wildcats three sets to one.
After having a tough weekend at the Flyer Classic, going 0-3 against all top twenty ranked teams, the Bobcats looked to come out strong for their first home game. In the first set, Ohio immediately fell to a 4-0 deficit leading to a timeout. They wouldn’t recover and lost the first set 25-16. The Wildcats seemed to just pour it on, with 15 kills in the first set and a .379 kill percentage. The Bobcats only managed a .097 kill percentage in the first set.
“We started out a little overexcited,” commented head coach Ryan Theis, entering his fifth season with the Bobcats. “We missed a couple serves long, other than that I think we were just too high on being back at home.”
The second set started well with Ohio taking an 11-5 lead. But after a timeout by Kentucky, Ohio found itself on the wrong end of a 7-2 run. The Wildcats went on to win the set 25-21. Kentucky once again took the lead in kills with 12 to Ohio’s 10.
After the intermission, Ohio would come out strong in the third set with a 6-1 run that would not be overcome. They eventually won the set 25-21. The Bobcats had 15 kills in that set, and a .355 kill percentage. Kentucky still managed 14 kills, but only a .175 kill percentage.
“We played well in the second set, but we blew a couple of chances late,” said Theis. “I thought we played well in the third and the fourth kind of got ugly on both sides.”
In what was called “a bit of a dog fight,” by coach Theis, the Bobcats managed to rally back in the fourth from a 22-16 deficit. However, Kentucky took what would be the final set 25-21 and the match.
“We’re scrapping, we’re fighting,” said coach Theis. “We just need to finish people off when we get them in close situations.”
Heading into a tough tournament ahead, featuring a game against Western Carolina on Saturday, and another test against No. 17 Oregon in the Tournament’s conclusion on Sunday, the Bobcats need to find a formula to get back to their winning ways. Last season the Bobcats finished with 23 wins, but are currently 0-4 at the start of the 2012 campaign.