Set to take the court in its first Mid-American Conference match this season at The Convo, Ohio will attempt to extend its 20-match winning streak against Kent State Thursday evening.
Thursday’s contest against the Golden Flashes will begin a four-match home stand for Ohio (6-8, 1-1 MAC), as Eastern Michigan will also take the court with the Bobcats this weekend.
“Both teams coming in this weekend are 1-1, as well, so I’m sure we are going to have some tough competition,” said Ohio coach Ryan Theis. “Hopefully we’ll get a good crowd at home and get some energy and keep our offense going.”
Kent State (4-10, 1-1) split its two conference matches last weekend, when the team defeated Miami Friday, but was swept by Bowling Green the following day. The Falcons had defeated Ohio in straight sets the previous evening.
Aside from their 3-2 win against Miami, the Golden Flashes have lost five of their last six matches overall, having won only three other matches this season.
Kent State lost both matches to Ohio last season and has lost 20 consecutive meetings. The team is under new leadership for the 2012 campaign, though, as Don Gromala took over the program this offseason and is looking to have his team return to the MAC Tournament, after not qualifying last season.
The Golden Flashes are led on the court by sophomore outside hitter Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola, who leads the team in kills and points.
Standing out defensively on the team is senior middle blocker Kathy Krupa and junior libero Hannah Herc, who leads the team in blocks and digs, respectively.
Ohio has dominated the Golden Flashes in recent years, but before the team’s winning streak began, the all-time record between the schools was 22-21 Kent. Today, however, Ohio has almost twice the wins as Kent in the series (42).
The Bobcats will look to maintain the momentum gained in their 3-0 sweep of the RedHawks Saturday, which was the team’s sixth consecutive sweep of Miami.
In the match, sophomore outside hitters Kelly Lamberti and Chelsea Bilger combined for 25 kills and 29.5 points on offense, while Lamberti also rejected five balls at the net.
“It’s incredibly important to win some games in-conference this weekend,” said sophomore middle blocker Serena Warner. “We need to establish that we can be a consistent team.”
UP NEXT:
Who: Kent State at OHIO
Where: The Convo
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
— Ohio has won 20 straight matches against Kent State.
— Both teams defeated Miami last weekend, each going 1-1
— Match will be the first MAC match in The Convo this season.
cl027410@ohiou.edu
