After a 3-0 first round loss against Michigan State of the NCAA Tournament, Ohio’s season came to an end, but the Bobcats are still satisfied with their accomplishments.
Through the ups and downs and injuries, the Bobcats lived up to their expectations from when they entered the 2013 campaign.
Ohio (27-6) claimed the Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament titles, along with the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 2010.
The Bobcats also ended the season with numerous personal accolades including sophomore setter Abby Gilleland’s MAC player of the year award and coach Ryan Theis’ MAC coach of the year honors.
The team received a league-high nine MAC player of the week honors this season by four different players, including another MAC-leading four total times by graduate student middle blocker Alexis Pinson.
Junior outside hitter Kelly Lamberti, sophomore middle blocker Karin Bull, Gilleland and Pinson were named to the All-MAC First Team, while Gilleland received the setter of the year honors along with her player of the year honors in the MAC.
Lamberti and Gilleland were also named to this season’s American Volleyball Coaches Association Northeast All-Region Team, while Pinson received honorable mentions for the region as well.
Before the MAC regular season began, Ohio had received three preseason All-MAC honors. Junior outside hitters Kelly Lamberti and Chelsea Bilger, as well as Gilleland were named to the team, but Bilger suffered a season-ending injury on Sept. 6 against then-No. 24 North Carolina.
“I was really pleased with our responses to adversity throughout the year,” Theis said. “In almost 15 years of collegiate coaching I have never really been a part of a program that has had this many quick injuries pop up. I was really proud of how they kept on winning and used the ‘next man up’ (mentality) over and over again.”
Ohio started the year by defeating then-No. 8 Oregon in a straight-set sweep, before finishing the non-conference part of the schedule with a 10-2 record. The Bobcats went 2-2 against top-25 teams during their preseason run.
The team finished the conference schedule with a 14-2 record, and then swept the MAC Tournament with three 3-0 victories. The senior class was key for the Bobcats in that final game, as redshirt junior outside hitter Liis Kullerkann notched a career-high 15 kills in the MAC Championship match against Eastern Michigan.
“The senior class did a number of things very well,” Theis said. “They were really good kids in the locker room and just wanted to continue to fight towards success. They stepped up at different times and either took over games or took over the locker room and made sure that the team is where we wanted it to be.”
Although the Spartans ended the Bobcats’ season in Lexington, Ky., the remaining players that will be back have a lot to learn from this year’s experiences. The Bobcats will likely return five freshman next season, including one who redshirted this year.
“Losing that game gave us even more motivation because we know we can get there,” freshman setter Brooke Coleman said. “We know that the first round is very beatable, so I feel (the loss) gives us room to grow and learn from it. I think we can work on things next year that can help us towards (performing well in) the first round. It was a great year, but it can be an even better year for the younger players. It gives us room for improvement (in the future).”
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