In order for a team to garner a high hitting percentage everything has to be working together. The Ohio volleyball team did just that in its match against Ball State last Friday, when the Bobcats hit .423 for the match.
The Bobcats' well-oiled offensive machine used the high percentage to blow past the Cardinals 3-0. Following this rather high statistic, the Bobcats hit .275 against the Toledo Rockets Saturday. Ohio swept Toledo as well even though the team didn't play as well of an all-round match as it had the night before.
Head Coach Geoff Carlston said, .275 is a pretty good hitting percentage G
and we did it against Ball State one of the toughest teams in the conference.
Carlston stressed that the reason his team hit so well Friday was its overall solid play. He said that strong hitting alone wouldn't let the Bobcats (14-3, 6-0 Mid-American Conference) shoot nearly as well as a team.
We just played well all together to hit that high of a percentage you got to do everything right
Carlston said. Our players were out-digging them
making great passes
hitting smart shots and playing good defense. We were fired up to be able to hit that well against Ball State at their place.
Middle blocker Melissa Griffin had 24 kills this weekend for the 'Cats G
we imposed ourselves on them as soon as we began and didn't allow them to get back in the game
Griffin said. Everything was working well together and our offense made it difficult for them to know what was coming each play.
Though her position doesn't allow for her to play offensively, libero Michaele Blackburn does play a big role in manufacturing the team's hitting percentage. Digging the opponent's shots properly and getting the ball to setter Savanah Parra is her main focus.
Coach always tells us to capitalize off every ball so we do our best to dig every shot and set the team up on offense
Blackburn said. As a team we insist on using all of our options because we want to be deceptive
and having everyone work perfectly together helps that.
The Bobcats will return home to play the Buffalo Bulls at 7 p.m., Friday in The Convo.
