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The Ohio Volleyball team waiting to take the court before their match against Bucknell.
The Ohio Volleyball team waiting to take the court before their match against Bucknell. [Andy McLean | WOUB Public Media]

Ohio’s losing streak hits 10 as Akron wins tight match  

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – The Ohio Volleyball team (2-13, 0-3 MAC) took a loss against Akron (8-6, 1-2 MAC) in four sets by a final score of 3-1 (28-26, 24-26, 25-18, 31-29) Friday night. 

Ohio finished with 71 kills, four aces, four blocks, 61 assists and 65 digs. Akron finished with 65 kills, four aces, seven blocks, 60 assists and 59 digs. 

Freshman Bailey Blair led the offensive pressure for the Bobcats as she tallied 18 kills, 31 attacks and a team-leading .516 hit percentage. Junior Torre Kildow led the Bobcats in attacks with 46 and tied Blair for kills with 18 each. 

Junior Kendall Hickey led Ohio in digs with 14, along with a service ace.  

The Bobcats had a hot start in the first set, rising up 5-1. Scoring evened out mid-set thanks to quality offense on both sides, but Akron battled back to gain their first lead of the match 15-14. This lead held as the Zips and Bobcats fought to the very last point, but the Bobcats gained an edge thanks to a Torre Kildow kill to bring the match to 25-24 with Ohio leading. After intense back-and-forth, Akron’s Lyndi Wolf sent a shot to Ohio’s side of the string that could not be countered, and the Zips took the first set 28-26. 

Ohio and Akron seesawed through the second set, ultimately coming down to the wire. Neither side let up, but the Bobcats’ Olivia Gardner delivered a kill to Akron, and that sealed the deal for Ohio to take the set 26-24. 

The Zips took a 4-0 lead to start the third set, partly due to service errors by the Bobcats. Akron found a margin after multiple attack errors by the Ohio offense, giving Akron a 19-13 lead. A service error on match point by Gentry Brown allowed Akron to take the third set, 25-18. 

Ohio fell to a 5-1 lead to start the fourth set, but fought back to tie the set 9-9. The Bobcats remained head-to-head with Akron through the set, but a kill by Delaney Gash allowed Akron to take the final set by a score of 31-29. 

The Bobcats will be back in action at home against Buffalo Saturday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m. ET. The match will be available to watch on ESPN+.