Ohio (12-11, 7-4 Mid-American Conference) got off to a fast start Saturday night trying to take the momentum from its victory against Miami (5-18,1-10Mid-American Conference) the night prior. The first set was controlled heavily by Ohio with steady efforts all around leading by three points early on and not looking back.
Ohio was able to control a 20-15 lead late in the set through a team effort that continued to shine through for the Bobcats though as four different players had three kills: Caroline Clippard, Kam Hunt, Anna Kharchynska and Elizabeth Hoerlein. Ohio was also aided by effective passing from Tria Mclean and Chariti Winzeler who finised the match with 19 and 15 assists respectively. The Bobcats were victorious in set 1 by a score of 25-17 taking a 1-0 lead on the RedHawks in the match.
Heading into the second set the Bobcats were bursting with confidence. Having control over the match at this point they wanted to try and capture it in straight sets. Ohio jumped out to a 5-2 lead early with three early kills from Hunt. Another run by the Bobcats was highlighted by offensive and defensive plays made by Kharchynska who recorded a kill and a block to stretch the lead to 10-5.
Ohio then went on an 11-7 run to take a 21-12 lead. The Bobcats’ Elizabeth Hoerlein had two kills and a block on the aforementioned run. Ohio needed four more points to win the set and wasted no time at all in doing so, claiming four of the next five points and taking set 2 by a score of 25-13.
Miami opened the scoring in set three before Ohio scored five unanswered points led by an early service ace by Maci Watrous. A total team effort capped off the next string of points for the Bobcats, with strong efforts from Kharchynska with a kill and block as well as Emily Waddell with two blocks.
The Bobcats led 14-5 midway through the final set. Clippard secured two points for Ohio with back-to-back kills to take a 16 to 9. Miami tried to battle back into the set but it found difficulty cutting the lead to anything less than a seven-point deficit. Ohio retained control with kills from Waddell and Hoerlein taking a 20-12 lead. Ohio needed 5 points to close out a sweep of the RedHawks and came out to grab a 23-14 lead with Kam Hunt contributing to 2 points adding a block and a kill to her tally for the night. The Bobcats finished a sweep of the RedHawks with an emphatic final kill from Clippard, giving them a 25-17 win.
