After getting early season retribution from last year’s loss to Kent State, Ohio got revenge once again beating Ball State in four sets on Friday.
Last year, the Cardinals upset the Bobcats in five sets handing them one of Ohio’s two losses in the Mid-American Conference. This time the Bobcats were able to thwart the Ball State attack in route to their seventh win in conference play.
Ohio’s attack was lead from an unusual place as junior middle blocker Karin Bull had 13 kills as she didn’t record a single error on the night on her way to a team high .812 hitting percentage. Much of the Bobcats efforts in this week’s preparation was to stop Bull’s opposite number in junior middle blocker Hayley Benson.
Coming off her third conference player of the week award this season, Benson looked to cause Ohio trouble. Although she was only able to tally 10 kills on the night, the Bobcats were able to contain all the players around her. The Cardinal outside hitter combination of redshirt freshman Sabrina Mangapora and redshirt junior Alex Fuelling was held to a .153 hitting percentage.
It looked to be all Ohio after a 25-8 victory in the first set, but once again the vaunted second set woes hit the Bobcats as they dropped the second set 25-20 to Ball State. After the offense came out firing on all cylinders converting 13 kills on 20 tries, it fell off in the second set as Ohio had as many errors as it did kills with 10.
The Bobcats have been able to respond well in the third set this year after dropping the second. Once again they were able to do so as they rode senior outside hitter Kelly Lamberti to a 25-20 victory. Lambrti had seven of her team high 15 kills in the set. After Ball State made a late surge to get within four points of Ohio, she was able to close out the set for the bobcats with two of the final four points coming on Lamberti kills.
The fourth set was a highly contested one as both teams struggled to grab ahold of the game before Ohio was finally able to late in the set. At 20-18, the Bobcats held a small advantage, but with scoring from the back row Ohio was able to close out the match against the Cardinals.
With sophomore defensive specialist Brooke Coleman toeing the service line, the Bobcats went finished the set on a 5-0 run in which Coleman recorded two of the team’s eight service aces. Junior setter Abby Gilleland ultimately ended the match as she had the final two kills to defeat Ball State.
Ohio has now won 13 of their last 14 games and along with Northern Illinois remain undefeated in MAC play. The Huskies defeated Akron to equal the Bobcats perfect mark at the start of the season. With the two teams set to face off next Saturday it seems as if the matchup will determine who will win the MAC regular season title this season.
They are in action again Saturday as they take on Toledo who was swept by Kent State Friday night. The rockets have yet to win a conference game this season and have only one win on the season that coming against IPFW in five sets.
