Sports
Ohio Volleyball inching closer to MAC Tournament berth
By: Marc Goldstein
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The revitalization for Ohio (11-15, 9-5 MAC) is nearly complete as it continues to get closer to a berth in the MAC Tournament. Over the weekend against Central Michigan (9-17, 6-8 MAC), Ohio was able to remain in complete control against a team that entered the weekend close in the standings. Regardless, Ohio completely slammed the door on any sort of competitiveness during the weekend, winning six of the seven sets.
Match 1:
To start the weekend, the teams traded service errors to open the first set. Ohio would take control of the set early as kills by Bailey Blair and Gentry Brown put Ohio up 3-1 early in the match. Ohio maintained its lead for the vast majority of the set, continuing to build an advantage with a number of errors by Central Michigan allowing for Ohio to stretch the lead further. Central Michigan made a comeback to tie the score at 14 apiece. The teams would continue to trade the points and lead throughout the set with neither team emerging with much of a lead. Central Michigan was able to stave off a set point to extend the set into extra volleyball. Ohio would regain the lead at 28-27 and end the set on an ace by Darbi Ricketts.
The Bobcats and Chippewas continued the theme of close play to begin the second set. The Chippewas got off to a modest lead with a three-point advantage. As the Bobcats made their comeback, the Chippewas started to crumble offensively with a number of errors. Sierra Evans picked up a handful of kills in the comeback effort and helped the Bobcats push through the defense of the Chippewas. Down by a score of 20-18, the Bobcats ended the set on a 7-1 run to take a commanding 2-0 lead on a kill by Bailey Blair.
Ohio’s third set was a break from the close play that characterized the first two sets. Ohio went up 9-4 quickly, but Central Michigan made it a 9-8 score very quickly. The teams would trade points, maintaining the one-point margin. Central Michigan took a 17-16 lead in the middle of the set, but Ohio would right the ship and close out the set, 25-23.
During the match, Ohio was able to hit at an astounding .280 percentage as it continued its trend of hitting at a high rate. Moreover, Ohio did not allow a single ace for Central Michigan with more dominance at the service line.
Match 2:
Ohio entered the second match of the weekend with hopes of getting yet another sweep. The teams were again very close with the lead for Ohio not getting to much more than a few points at a time. It was not until the score was 16-15 when Ohio went on a brief 4-1 run to take a lead that became insurmountable in the end. Central Michigan delayed the inevitable as the set went to extra volleyball before Ohio took the set with a 28-26 victory.
In the second, the Chippewas took an early advantage, but that was shaken off by the Bobcats. Ohio would get right with some timely kills and taking advantage of some errors by the Chippewas. The Bobcats got itself in the driver’s seat again with a 22-20 lead. From there, the Bobcats closed out the second to push them to one set away from victory.
Ohio had won 11 straight sets, its longest streak of the season entering the third set. That streak would ultimately come to an end in the third. Central Michigan jumped out to a big 11-5 lead early in the set, but allowed Ohio to make a comeback, getting the set within a point. However, that did not matter in the end as Central Michigan held off a furious rally to win 25-21 and keep the match alive.
Early in the fourth set, the action remained close, but Ohio was able to pull away a little bit, taking an 11-8 lead. The three-point lead would remain in Ohio’s favor for the majority of the set as it circled the wagons and won the set, 25-19.
The road ahead:
Ohio now sits in a tie for third place with Toledo, who owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. Ohio has a two-match lead over a trio of teams sitting in the next spots. In the six-team MAC Tournament, Ohio controls its own destiny to make the bracket with four matches to play. Ohio will travel to Northern Illinois this weekend as it faces a team currently on the outside of the bubble of the conference tournament. Those two matches are the “easiest” for the team before it returns home for its final two matches against Western Michigan, a team that sits in second place in the MAC.
Seeding and postseason berths aside, this turnaround is even more impressive considering where the team began when the stretch got underway. Ohio has won nine out of its last 10 matches and done it in rather dominant fashion. Ohio continues to pass every test with flying colors. With the number of matches dwindling, the likelihood of punctuating this turnaround with a postseason berth would be the culmination of it all.