Heading into Saturday Ohio was looking to make a bit of history.
A win against Toledo would make it their first 8-0 start in Mid-American Conference play since 2009. With a three set sweep of the Rockets, the Bobcats (15-4, 8-0 MAC) did exactly that as they won each set by at least eight points.
The night before at Ball State freshman outside hitter Jaime Kosiorek was held to just two kills, but she turned it around with a .500 attack percentage as she had eight kills without an attack error. All three of Ohio’s outside hitters hit above .300 on the night as junior setter Abby Gilleland found her outsides a total of 54 times in the match resulting in 24 kills.
Unlike the night before, Ohio was able to build upon the momentum from the first set and carry that over into the second frame. The Bobcats grabbed an early eight point lead in the first set and continued to build upon it to take the set 25-15.
Unlike the night before when they dropped the second set to Ball State, Ohio grew on the momentum from the first set victory. The Bobcats jumped out to an early 15-7 lead in the set with the help of two service aces from Kosiorek. They would continue to maintain that lead to a 25-16 win.
The third set came just as easy as Ohio lead from the first point. They held that lead throughout as they turned to senior Kelly Lamberti down the stretch. Lamberti had four kills in the final set to lead the Bobcats to a 25-17 victory.
They remain undefeated in conference play along with Northern Illinois. 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.
Five years ago was the last time that Ohio was undefeated through the first four weeks of conference play. That 2009 team ended up winning conference that year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament before being knocked out by Michigan.
@Kovarandrew
