Sports

Ohio Volleyball started the week at .500 in MAC play and ended the week at .500 in MAC play. The Bobcats traveled to Akron to take on an improved Zips team and were able to come out on top 3-1 (25-18, 14-25, 25-11, 26-24).

Ohio held Akron to a .207 hit % in the match, while the Bobcats achieved a .289 hit % against the Zips. Macy Reihing was a main reason for the success defensively:  The libero had a team-high 19 digs in the match. Stephanie Olman matched a career high with 16 kills. The senior hit .256 to lead the Bobcats offensively.

Simone Miller was very efficient with her attack attempts, getting 11 kills on 16 attacks. Vera Giacomazzi had 45 assists to set up the Bobcats offense, she also added three kills herself.

Ohio was unable however to continue some road success, as they got swept by Buffalo on Saturday 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-20). Ohio struggled on offense all night, as they hit .053 for the contest. Ohio had 22 attack errors in the match, 11 of those errors were unforced as well.

Offensively, Ohio was hurt by a rough match from the two outside hitters. Lizzie Stephens and Jaime Kosiorek had 13 kills on 11 errors, finishing with a hit % of .033 between the two of them. Their struggles were surprising because the two had been very successful all season offensively and had 15 kills each in the first matchup against Buffalo on September 28th. Tia Jimerson was the lone bright spot on offense, as she hit .545 on 11 attempts.

Ohio focused on shutting down star Andrea Mitrovic — Mitrovic entered the game first in the conference in kills per set and she had 25 kills in the first matchup. Mitrovic was limited as she finished with only nine kills, but Rachel Sanks took advantage of the added attention on Mitrovic and finished with 16 kills on a .519 hit %. Ohio was also held to only two aces in the match, a stat that the Bobcats usually dominate, but were held in check by the Bulls on Saturday.

Ohio will finish the regular season at home with Bowling Green and Miami (OH) coming to the Convo on November 9th and 10th.