After sweeping a pair of matches last weekend, Ohio will face two familiar Mid-American Conference opponents that took just one set, combined, against the Bobcats earlier this season.
Ohio (18-4, 8-2 MAC) will host Akron and Buffalo this weekend, as the Bobcats defeated both teams on the road during their first meetings of the season.
After strong performances last weekend, sophomore setter Abby Gilleland and graduate student middle blocker Alexis Pinson were named the MAC East offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively.
Ohio had five different individuals notch career highs during Saturday’s win against Western Michigan and will look to continue the balanced attack this weekend.
“If you have balance, and someone’s having an off day, you can always go to someone else,” redshirt junior outside hitter Kullerkann said. “If someone’s being stopped by the opponent, then having balance helps you keep your offense going.”
Akron (6-15, 0-10 MAC) will hit the court against Ohio on Friday, looking to seal its first conference victory this season. The Zips rank last among MAC teams in every statistical category during conference play, except aces, which they rank in second-worst.
“One of our goals right now is (to fix) our transition attacking, kill percentage and ability to go from dig to kill,” coach Ryan Theis said.“That’s something that we need to be better at and this will absolutely be a challenge to do that against either of these opponents.”
Buffalo (16-7, 4-6 MAC) began the season with a 12-match winning streak, but has gone 4-7 since then. The Bulls were the No. 1 blocking team in the nation when the Bobcats defeated them in late September, but have fallen to No. 15, which is one spot behind Ohio.
“Buffalo blocked us in the second game when we played them seven times; you don’t see many seven block games ever,” Theis said. “They’re an awfully physical blocking team.”
The Bulls rank among the bottom three teams in hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage in conference play, which has been a factor in their five MAC losses in four sets or less.
The Bobcats are tied with Ball State for first in the MAC and hold first place in the East with six games left in conference play.
“We can now control our own fate (in the MAC East),” Theis said. “This group is really good about focus and attention, and they all want a championship.”
@Alex_Busch91
ab109410@ohiou.edu
Up Next:
7 p.m. Friday vs. Akron (6-15)
7 p.m. Saturday
. vs. Buffalo (16-7)
Where: The Convo
Admission: Free for students.
