Ohio's weekend road trip saw two contrasting teams take the floor in green and white, one walking away with an embarrassing loss and another capturing a crucial victory.
The Bobcats lost to conference bottom-dweller Buffalo (16-14, 2-10 Mid-American Conference) in five sets but, less than 24 hours later, rebounded and beat Akron to regain control of the MAC East Division.
It was really like we had two different personalities out there
said coach Ryan Theis. There were two different teams on the floor this weekend.
Saturday night, Ohio (16-11, 8-6 MAC) pushed through sluggish starts in the first three sets of play to win on the road, 3-1. The win pushed the Bobcats into first place in the MAC East with only two games remaining on the schedule.
First place in the division would mean the second seed in the conference tournament and an automatic first-round bye.
Statistically, both nights were similar. Neither game produced huge numbers for the Bobcats, but Theis said Saturday's team had a different aura around it.
Something just seems to spark them sometimes Theis said. Tonight it was anger at a line-judge call
but it can be different all the time. It's just a matter of flipping that switch.
After dropping the first set because of streaky play, Ohio took control of the last three, never letting Akron string together a long enough series of points to go on a run.
The Bobcats came out slow in the second, trailing 6-2 before rebounding quickly to get back into the game. The score was deadlocked at 23-23 late. All season, Ohio has had problems finishing games, but had no problem doing so Saturday, ending the set with kills from Lexie Hartnett and Katie Post.
Post recorded double-digit kills in both matches. Her 12 kills Saturday were preceded by a career-high 21 Friday in Buffalo.
Katie had a phenomenal weekend all around
and that helped us tons
Theis said. Her play led everyone else on the court.
The third set saw Ohio overcome another huge deficit, this time in the form of an 18-11 advantage in favor of the Zips. Once again, level heads and effective play pushed the Bobcats back into the set, as they eventually won it 25-23.
Set four saw the Bobcats jump to a 7-3 lead that they never gave up, eventually winning 25-20.
Akron slipped into second place with the loss and, if the Bobcats win both games this weekend, the team will win another MAC East title.
We're definitely in control of our own destiny
and that's probably the best thing to be right now
Theis said. We just have to lower our heads and keep pushing.
2
Sports
