After a trip to see Niagara Falls, it was back to business on the court for the Bobcats.
The buses were warmed at halftime as Ohio handed host Buffalo a three set sweep. The Bobcats got a large contribution from senior middle blocker Hannah Burkle who tallied six of her team high 12 kills in the first set. That included the final kill of the set as they grabbed a 25-19 victory to grab control early.
Ohio knew going into its game against Buffalo it would be challenged defensively. The six hour trip north meant they would have to defend against the Mid-American Conference top hitter in senior outside hitter Tahliea Bishop. Coming into the weekend, Bishop led the conference with 4.33 kills per set.
Much of the week’s preparation went into stopping the First Team All-MAC player. The Bobcats limited Bishop to four kills the whole night forcing the Bulls to turn to other players for offensive production. The only player who answered the call was junior middle blocker Akeila Lain who had a team high 10 kills.
For the second time on the weekend, Ohio’s defense shut the opponent down as Buffalo recorded a .131 hitting percentage on the night. Friday, the Bobcats held Akron to a .147 hitting percentage. The difference between the two games is Saturday Ohio didn’t slip up defensively.
The Bobcats never let the Bulls out hit them in any set like they allowed in the Akron game. Buffalo’s attack came in the second set when it recorded a .231 percentage. This was answered by Ohio’s best offensive set of the night as it more than doubled that by Buffalo hitting at a .483 clip.
The trek home from New York to Athens is the last the Bobcats will have to make this season. They end the MAC regular season with two home games against Bowling Green and Miami. The Redhawks are the only team to take the Bobcats to a fifth set this MAC season. The stand as the only true obstacle in the way of Ohio completing an undefeated conference slate.
Bowling Green never gave Ohio a match in their first meeting of the year. The Bobcats rolled by the Falcons in three sets although this is a theme common with a lot of opponents in the MAC. Ohio has only dropped nine sets this conference season in route to their undefeated run.
@Kovarandrew
