Geoff Carlston is realistic when it comes to his expectations of the Bobcats' non-conference schedule.
The beauty of our schedule is that we don't need to win every match
and we don't expect to win every match Carlston said. But we are going to learn what it takes to compete with the best and this experience will be valuable for this group.
The Bobcats will get no breaks in their early season schedule, traveling to tournaments in Minneapolis, South Bend, Ind., and Denver before beginning Mid-American Conference play.
Seven of the 10 teams the Bobcats will play this season have reached the Sweet 16 in the past two years, including Stanford, San Diego and Minnesota, all who finished in the top 15 of the final coaches poll.
It's definitely the toughest schedule we've played and probably is going to be one of the toughest in the country
Carlston said. We're going to have to get used to playing against teams that are used to playing in the Final Four.
Coming off last season where the Bobcats finished No. 25 in the coaches poll and pushed their winning streak in the MAC to 47 matches, the Bobcats lose four seniors while gaining the services of three freshmen, Sue Jacobi, Michelle Jantsch and Melissa Szkutnik.
I think that all of them have a shot at making an impact on the team
Carlston said. It's a matter of how quickly they make that transition from high school to college.
Carlston said that Ohio was able to use the spring season to prepare for the 'Cats daunting schedule, as well as to integrate players, such as Ohio State transfer Meghan Simons, into the team's system.
The spring season allowed us to get to know each other as a new team
Carlston said. From the beginning to the end
I really feel that we matured as a group.
Contributing to the maturity was the number of underclassmen on the floor for Ohio during the spring season. Co-captain Stephanie Blackburn was the only upperclassman to see significant playing time because Melissa Griffin was nursing an injury.
We had almost all freshmen and sophomores on the floor
he said. They really gained a lot of experience from the spring season.
Ohio opens play Aug. 25 at The Convo against James Madison as part of the Hampton Inn Volleyball Challenge.
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