The first two Mid-American Conference opponents couldn't come close to hitting the target on Ohio's back.
The Bobcats know that teams in their conference are gunning for them, but they still swept Akron to open conference play on Friday and defeated Buffalo 3-1 on Saturday to improve to 9-4 on the season.
Ohio got off to a slow start in both matches, but on Friday senior Amanda Andersen came off the bench and tallied a season-best 10 kills.
I don't think (Akron) really scouted me
as far as where I set up Andersen said. I think we caught them off guard. It's a good thing that we have versatility and different people can go in.
They didn't really know what they were getting into.
Junior outside hitter Ellen Herman teamed with Andersen in the middle frames to spark the Ohio offense which became opportunistic as the match wore on.
Herman had 11 kills to lead all players
and nearly registered another double-double
finishing with nine digs.
Now that the games are to 25, errors just can't happen, Herman said. (Coach Ryan Theis) told us that they gave us 12 points, and we gave them 11.
We did a really good job of distributing the ball and staying aggressive. Sarah (Petrulis) did a great job digging the ball ' her job as the libero is to own the back court and she did.
Theis used a lot of faces during the two matches, and Friday, five different players registered at least four kills.
Sophomore Michelle Jantsch continued to play well, picking up 36 assists in three sets. Meghan Simons led the charge at the net for Ohio, picking up five blocks against an Akron team that seemed to find openings all night.
They had a really good game plan
Theis said. They were basically doing everything in their power to avoid our blocks. They wanted to take our setter (Jantsch) out with the first touch
but every week someone throws a new wrinkle at us and we'll continue to get better and better.
Saturday night's match against Buffalo didn't begin as planned.
The owners of a 19-1 all-time record against the Bulls, Ohio came out lackadaisical and dropped the first set, 30-28.
After the slow start, it was freshman defensive specialist Nicole Staverman that sparked the Bobcats. Staverman had six aces and 10 digs on the night, the former a season high for the Bobcats and the most since Stephanie Blackburn in 2007.
Ohio gave up just 11 points in the fourth and final set.
We really went aggressive (serving)
Theis said. Some days
you're hit or miss on certain aspects
and it was evident tonight. We seemed to be hitting on everything.
Herman led all players with 23 kills on the night to go with 10 digs, registering 17 more kills than any player on the Bulls' roster.
She dictated the tempo of the match in the decisive frame.
Ellen's a lot of fun
Theis said. We need to put her in positions where she can be successful. We were very good behind the setter tonight
