Sports
Hawaii Sweeps Ohio On Home Court
< < Back toThe Ohio University volleyball team (0-1) fell to the No. 17-ranked University of Hawaii (1-0), 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-20), in the 2014 season opener on Saturday at the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Honolulu.
The Bobcats fell short in a first set that was filled with momentum changes.
After Hawaii jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, Ohio responded with a 8-1 run of their own led by kills from Kelly Lamberti and Karin Bull, and a service ace from sophomore Brooke Coleman. Hawaii readjusted its offense and answered with an 11-3 run to take a 15-11 lead.
The Green and White fought back to tie the set at 16. After trading several points, the Bobcats regained a two point lead, 21-19, off of a kill by Coleman and a service ace from Meredith Ashy. The Rainbow Wahine strung together a late surge, though, securing the set win on a 6-1 run.
In the second set of play the Bobcats once again gained an early 8-4 lead fueled by three kills by senior Hannah Burkle. With the set being a constant struggle of momentum, Hawaii found themselves with it in the crucial end of the set. Leading 23-21, a Rainbow Wahine kill and a service error by the Bobcats secured a 2-0 match lead for Hawaii.
The third set started in similar fashion as the previous two with the Bobcats earning a 10-7 advantage early. Burkle would again fuel the attack for Ohio with four kills, but it was still not enough to contain Hawaii. The Rainbow Wahine rallied to score 11 of the match’s final 16 points to secure the win.
In her first-career start, Burkle notched a career-high nine kills and hit a team-best .421.
Senior Kelly Lamberti recorded five kills, two service aces, 10 digs and three blocks. Her career kills now total 1,210, pushing her to the seventh-most in school history in the rally scoring era.
The Bobcats will continue to search for their first win of the season later Saturday when they take on San Diego State (0-1) at 11:30 p.m eastern time.