Sports
Ohio Volleyball wins home opener in gritty fashion against Morgan State
By: Ella Hughes
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — After two losses against nationally ranked opponents, Ohio Volleyball (5-4) was looking to bounce back in their home opener and first game of the Bobcat Invitational against Morgan State (1-9). After an error-filled first set, the Bobcats would fight back to win three straight sets, winning the game 3-1.
Morgan State would win the first points of the set on a service ace from Isabelle Brown , marking the start of the back-and-forth action of the first set. Darbi Ricketts would be a real difference maker for the Bobcats with two straight aces to give Ohio a 5-3 lead.
The Bears and Bobcats would continue to trade points, with the longest point streak coming from Ohio, who would score four in a row battling back from being down two points to lead 22-21. However, the unforced errors started to take charge at that point in the set. An attack error by Gentry Brown would give Morgan State their first win of the match 27-25.
The second set would see the Bobcats start to dominate, going on multiple runs with their serving and defense starting to look strong. Ohio would take advantage of errors from Morgan State, giving them an 11-6 advantage. The Bobcats continued to find holes in the Bears’ defense to give them the advantage. An attack error from Jada Williams awarded Ohio a 25-19 win, tying the game 1-1.
The third set would be similar to the first, with each team scoring back-and-forth points. Senior Torre Kildow was a standout in this set with four kills, helping Ohio dominate the Bears. The Bobcats would go on a three-point run to win the third set on a kill from Bailey Blair to put them up 2-1.
Head Coach Kenzie Brinkman emphasized the importance of playing “Ohio volleyball” and not letting Morgan State get them out of their rhythm. The Bobcats showed this standard in the final set by forcing the Bears to play in uncomfortable situations.
Freshman Rose Mahin was a star for Ohio in the final set, racking up multiple kills to send the Bobcats on decent runs. Mahin would have two kills in a row to give them an 11-6 advantage. Morgan State would score more points attempting to make a comeback, but the Ohio game plan was too strong. A Jada Williams service error would be the final play of the game, and the Bobcats would win the set 25-19 and this game 3-1. Both Mahin and Kildow had double-digit kills, which speaks to the impact they had on the game.
“I think we had aggressive serves which got them out of system, which caused them to not be able to play their typical game and get as many kills,” said Mahin on the impact their offense had on Morgan State.
The Bobcats will take on UNC Asheville (10-2) tonight in the Convocation Center at 7 p.m. and Mercyhurst Saturday at 2 p.m. While Morgan State faces Mercyhurst (3-6) in the Convo at 4 p.m.