Sports
Ohio Volleyball: ‘Cats Top UConn in Straight Sets
By: Joe Collins
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ATHENS, OH — It was a battle between Cats and Dogs Friday night at the Convo. While we may never know who is the superior pet, we found out that cats, Bobcats that is, are the superior volleyball team. Ohio (5-4) made quick work of the Connecticut Huskies by sweeping the 3 sets: 25-22, 25-14 and 25-20.
The first set started off slow for the Bobcats as the Huskies jumped out to a 7-3 lead before a service error by Aset Baker-Falealili would start a 6-1 run for the Cats’. Junior Macy Reihing had a couple of key digs during the first set to keep OU on top.
“We were working on block lineup so we were off on the blocks the first set, but we worked really hard on getting our hands in the right place,” Reihing said.
Reihing would lead the team with 19 digs on the night.
There would be a total of 5 lead changes between the two teams in the first set but a 5-2 run at the end would give the Bobcats the first set 25-22. The big crowd in the Convo was loud and cheered on their Bobcats to a very big win for Ohio.
“It’s always great to be home. We have great support from our fans and the community. Not to mention the band and the comforts of home and everything that accompanies it,” Ohio head coach Deane Webb said. “You can’t say enough of how good it is to be back at the Convo and one of the biggest reasons recruits come here is because of all of this.”
The Bobcats would roar out of the gate in the 2nd set and would take a 10-1 lead. Junior Tia Jimmerson was key offensively and defensively during the 2nd set.
“She gave us a good presence defensively,” Webb said. “When she gets going she’s intimidating to the other side and as she gets a little stronger and plays her way back into volleyball shape she’s gonna really take off for us.”
The ‘Cats totaled 12 kills while only committing 1 error in the second set. They led by as many as 14 and eventually ended set 2 with a 25-14 win.
It felt so good to be back on the court with the girls,” Jimmerson said. “We play for each other so it just felt good to do that from the beginning.”
The 3rd set would start the same way as the 2nd one did; The Bobcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead. However, the Huskies were persistent and were always slowly catching back up. However, Maggie Nedoma would get her 7th kill of the night and give the Bobcats the set 25-20 and the 3-0 sweep.
The Bobcats, after playing 15 sets in three games last weekend, ended the day sweeping both the College of Charleston and UConn. This was a huge sigh of relief for the Bobcats as the previous weekend pushed them to their very limits, but are much happier this weekend with the results.
The Bobcats would finish with 42 kills and 51 digs, while the Huskies finished with 29 and 42 respectively. The bobcats started off the season 1-4 but have won their last 4 games. Coach Webb credits their tough schedule as the reason they have played well as of late.
“We put together kind of a sneaky good schedule and we knew that. It was one of those things were nobody on the outside would think it was good and that’s ok cause we knew what teams we were playing and how good they were,” Webb said. “We’re starting to see the payoff of that because every team we’ve played is in the top half of division 1 and you get better that way.”
TheBbobcats look to continue their win streak during the Ohio Invitational when they take on the Virginia Cavaliers Saturday at 2:00 at the Convo.