A Magic 8 Ball has never seen repetition like this, but even Miss Cleo could have predicted the outcome.
Yet it seemed only fitting that four of the most prolific players in school history went out in style.
Ohio's senior class (Ellen Herman, Meghan Simons, Sarah Petrulis and injured Jane Sytsma) will most likely go down as one of the best the Mid-American Conference has ever seen.
On a weekend when they were the focus, coach Ryan Theis' leaders were his best players.
The Bobcats (21-5, 13-1 MAC) tightened their stranglehold on first place in the conference with a pair of sweeps against Buffalo and Akron in The Convo. Each opponent opened with strong first sets, but the offensive consistency the Bobcats have developed proved overwhelming.
Six players for Ohio hit .400 or better against Buffalo, and nearly set the school record for hitting percentage. The Bobcats hit over .500 through two sets, and finished the night at. 444.
We gave (Buffalo) a lot of points; we can't do that later in the year
Herman said. (Setter Michelle Jantsch) was distributing balls to a lot of the hitters and making us get a lot of looks.
With the 3-0 win against Buffalo, Ohio secured its second-straight 20-win season under Theis and the eighth in a row for the program, a school record.
Coupled with Western Michigan's five-set loss to Miami Saturday night, the Bobcats' sweep of the Akron Zips clinched a share of the MAC regular-season title.
Katie Post's service run of six points and three aces in the second set Friday pushed the Bulls into panic mode, from which they could not recover.
That was a huge service run Theis said. You get a couple of those a year in terms of being able to rip it and everything's going your way.
The following night featured a similar score, but entirely different story line.
On Senior Night, Ohio traded early points with the Zips before pulling away at the 10-10 mark in each of the first two sets.
In the second, the Bobcats were the beneficiaries of Akron errors and recorded six of the next seven points after 10-10.
For the seniors, the final home set of their careers was an ongoing, lingering thought.
It was definitely on our minds the whole time
Simons said. We just did a really good job of keeping the ball in play and doing what was important on our side.
The Bobcats were blocked just one time all night, and the defense limited the Zips to seven points in the third set - the fewest allowed in the last six years. Akron was held to .000 hitting for the match.
Though they were their usual stingy selves in both matches, Theis sees another level his team can ascend to.
I hope we can get to an extra gear
he said. That's kind of the goal - to start playing better and better
and giving away less points.
The second set and a half, we played really well and gave very few points away.
But for the coach
the statistical victories and sweeps are a microcosm of the leadership he has grown accustomed to from the seniors
who have now been a part of four conference titles.
They're just great leaders, and great with their teammates, Theis said. It's a phenomenal group, I couldn't say more great things about them.",",2,Sports,Rob Mixer,29871a.jpg,Senior middle blocker Meghan Simons (middle) spikes the ball past the Akron block put up by junior middle blocker Jackie Goleman (right) and sophomore outside hitter Courtney Jarvis Saturday in The Convo. The Bobcats beat the Zips 3-0. (Alex Stein | Picture Editor),",",",QUICKSTATS,Friday
OHIO (21-5
13-1 MAC) 3
Buffalo 0
(25-18
25-15
