Animal biology says mammals don’t lay eggs, but in the match against Ball State, the Bobcats could not scramble to find a win.
The Bobcats (15-7, 7-1) lost the match by a count of three games to one (23-25, 16-25, 25-20, 15-25).
Ohio established a quick 12-4 lead but that advantage would evaporate as the
Cardinals fought their way back to take control of the set and eventually win.
After losing the lead in the first set, the Bobcats looked out of sync in the second set.
The team had six kills against six errors in 35 total attempts for a .000 hitting percentage and sophomore defensive specialist Mollie Geske committed a service error to end the set.
“I think the biggest factor was their push back in set one and us not responding and that bleeding into set two,” Ohio coach Ryan Theis said.
The Bobcats returned to their typical level of play in the third set.
Senior middle blocker Katie Post had five kills on five attacks and freshman outside hitter Chelsea Bilger and redshirt sophomore Lexie Hartnett each hit .500 for the set.
In the final game of the set, Ball State’s offense amassed 20 kills in the set and was too efficient for the Bobcat defense, hitting .410 in the set.
After the game, Theis said the focus was not on staying perfect in conference play, but rather responding after a loss.
“A team takes a lead from us and we don’t respond,” Theis said. “That’s not how we want to be known. We have to fight back better.”
Ohio responded with a win against another West Division foe. Ohio swept Toledo winning (25-14, 26-24, 27-25).
The Bobcats pushed their lead to double digits at 18-8, before taking the first set.
The next two sets were contested affairs. In the second set, Ohio trailed 17-15 but won the next four points to take the advantage.
Toledo evened the score at 24-24, but a Bilger kill followed by a Post and Faith Robins block gave the Bobcats the second set.
The final set went to game point in favor of Ohio. The Rockets would tie the set but could not sustain the momentum. Post and Robins combined again for a block that would end the match.
Post factored on offense and defense. She notched nine kills and assisted in eight blocks.
Post attributed this effort to picking her spots and said that other than a few minor miscues, this was the response the team needed after dropping the match to Ball State.
nr225008@ohiou.edu
