Sports
Bull Leads Ohio Past Eastern Washington
< < Back to bull-leads-ohio-past-eastern-washingtonOhio Volleyball showed its depth in a three-set win over Eastern Washington Saturday in the Oregon Classic, 25-12, 25-20, 25-20.
Preseason All-MAC hitters Kelly Lamberti and Chelsea Bilger struggled through the first two sets, hitting a combined .100 on 20 attempts. Bilger was playing her first match of the season after sitting out Friday’s opener against Bryant (coach’s decision).
Karin Bull and Katie Horton were more than happy to fill in and shoulder the load.
Bull, a sophomore, was an offensive force in the first set, scoring five kills on seven attempts. She operated mostly out of the middle and on the right side of the floor, leading Ohio through an easy first set.
Through two sets, Bull hit .778 on nine total attempts with no errors.
On the other side of the floor, Horton smashed all eight of her kills in the first two sets. The freshman and former beach volleyball junior national champion made her second consecutive start over Bilger Saturday. She also had three block assists.
Bull finished with 10 kills, tying her career high, and three blocks (two solo). Lamberti and Bilger finished with 12 kills and 11 errors on 43 attempts.
Mallory Salis made her first career start on the back line in Ohio’s second match of the season. Salis, listed as a 5-foot-8 outside hitter and libero on the official roster, was a weapon in the service game Friday against Bryant, serving during a 10-point rally in the first set and recroding three aces.
The freshman showed another side of her game Saturday with seven digs in the match and a kill from the back row in the second set.
Alexis Pinson was strong at the net with five block assists and three kills. She added four digs.
The Bobcats were not as sharp Saturday afternoon as they were in their opener. The Green-and-White hit an incredible .524 as a team against Bryant Friday night, but could only manage .188 against the Eagles Saturday. Ohio had 19 errors as a team.
Senior Mollie Geske saw her first action after sitting out Friday’s win with a knee injury. She played sparingly in all three sets and fiished with two digs. Her status remains day-to-day.
Abby Gilleland exited the floor early in the first set with an ankle injury, but returned later in the same set and recorded a match-high 27 assists.
Ohio will play No. 8 Oregon at 10 p.m. Saturday to close out the tournament.