No. 3 Ohio’s stay in Muncie, Indiana, was extended after it defeated Northern Illinois 3-0 on Sunday night. It moved on to the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals, where it will face off against tournament-favorite No. 2 Bowling Green (20-8, 16-2 MAC).
The Bobcats (12-18, 11-7 MAC) have not moved past the semifinals of the MAC Tournament since they won the conference championship in 2015. They defeated the Huskies 3-0 on Nov. 22, 2015 in The Convo. However, now the Bobcats are without the home-court advantage.
Match information
Opponent: Bowling Green
Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Worthen Arena
How to watch: ESPN+
Match history
Ohio upset Bowling Green 3-2 on Nov. 13 after being swept the night before. It has the potential to beat Bowling Green if it produces a string of clean sets and defends well. Nevertheless, the win was still a narrow squeeze for Ohio. It did not win by more than four points in any set.
The matchup is tricky not because of their regular-season history, but rather because of their lack of postseason history. The Bobcats do not traditionally face the Falcons in the conference tournament. The added pressures and emotions could either hurt or help Ohio on Monday.
Players to watch
Ohio: Caitlin O’Farrell
O’Farrell was hot against Northern Illinois on Sunday night. She had 15 kills and seven blocks to help Ohio secure the win. The middle blocker has a spunk to her when she gets going, but she also knows how to keep things quiet.
Bowling Green: Petra Indrova
Indrova found success against the Bobcats earlier this season. She hit well against them and tallied 19 and 18 kills in the two matchups, respectively. She was named the MAC Player of the Year last week and was also announced as a member of the All-MAC First Team.
