Sports
Ohio Volleyball Wins Once More
< < Back to ?p=7606The last time Ohio Volleyball lost a game was on September 22, when Bowling Green defeated the Bobcats in straight sets. On senior night, the Falcons would not deny the Bobcats of their 11th straight victory, as Ohio won in straight sets, 25-18, 25-21, 25-21.
“The roles were totally reversed [tonight]. Our offense struggled to get going the first time we played [Bowling Green],” Ohio head coach Ryan Theis said, “and tonight it was just flipped.”
The first set was mostly dominated by Ohio as they jumped ahead early in the first set 5-1 on four unforced errors by Bowling Green. A kill by sophomore Kelly Lamberti put the Bobcats up 9-3 and forced a Falcons timeout. A combined block by Abby Gilleland and Serena Warner put the Bobcats up 19-13. Another Bowling Green error put Ohio up 21-14, followed by a subsequent Falcon timeout. The set was won by Ohio at 25-18 on a block by Gilleland and senior Lexie Hartnett.
Happy with his teams’ performance Theis said, “We just played so well offensively.”
The second set has highly contested as Bowling Green scored the first two points of the set. Ohio tied the set for the first time, at 6-6 on a Falcon violation. The Bobcats took their first lead of the set at 9-8 on a service ace by Abby Gilleland. Bowling Green kept the set close at 12-11 on a kill by Danielle Tonyan. Bowling Green took a timeout at 19-11, following a Lamberti kill which capped off seven unanswered Ohio points. The Falcons fought back and outscored the Bobcats 6-2 to force Ohio into a timeout at 22-18. Ohio regrouped, however, and won the set at 25-21 on another kill by Lamberti.
“We were playing with a lot of passion tonight, a lot of fire. We wanted to protect our home floor. We wanted to go undefeated at home in MAC play. We did that,” Theis said.
The Bobcats’ only home losses this season have come at the hands of Kentucky and Oregon. Kentucky was ranked 10th nationally at the time, and Oregon is currently ranked 3rd in the nation.
In the third set, Bowling Green again was the first to jump on Ohio, going up 4-1. Ohio fought back to tie the set at 4-4 with a Falcon error and kills by seniors Faith Robins and Hartnett. At 12-11 the Bobcats took their first lead. The Falcons seized the lead back at 17-16, but a kill by Serena Warner finished off a four point Bobcat rally to put the home team up 20-17. Bowling Green brought the set within one point at 21-20 on an attack error by sophomore Chelsea Bilger. Ohio took a timeout following the point because Bilger tripped awkwardly and appeared to be hurt. Fortunately she was able to return for the next Ohio point. Finally, the match was won, 25-21, on a Falcon error.
Kelly Lamberti had a great game for Ohio. She had 10 kills and 13 digs on the night.
The match was followed by a ceremony for seniors; Hartnett, Robbins, and Leah Petrovich. The three were Ryan Theiss’s first recruiting class as Ohio head coach.
"This is a terrific group of young ladies…They’re the best. They’re first class in everything,” Theis said of his seniors. “I couldn’t ask for better leaders on our team.”
Robins played exceptionally well for the Bobcats tonight. She had 10 kills and shot .474 for the Bobcats. Talking on the significance of senior night, she said, “It’s awesome to have community support and to be honored for the four years we’ve been here."
Not getting too caught up in the moment, Hartnett said, “We’re focused on our next games, our next wins.”
The Bobcats travel to Kent next to take on the Golden Flashes on November 1.