Ohio (1-2) started its season with the Bobcat Invitational, where it played three home games against Bucknell (0-3), Iowa State (2-0), and Eastern Illinois (2-0). Ohio won its first game against Bucknell but failed to get anything going during its last two games, resulting in a 1-2 record overall for the tournament.
Ohio vs. Bucknell
In what was the first game for Ohio, it came out swinging. Bucknell opened the first set scoring 2 points, but Ohio sent shots right back, going on a 3-0 run. It was able to jump out to an early 4-3 lead against Bucknell. Bucknell would soon come back into the game, having a 12-8 lead over Ohio, thanks to a 6-0 run, thanks to numerous attack errors and bad sets by Ohio.
After trading off points, Ohio would bring the game back within 2 points with the score being 22-20. Ohio then proceeded to score 5 of the last 6 points in the game to take the first set by a score of 25-23. Ohio’s freshmen stood out in this set, as Bailey Blair had five kills in this alone, along with another two from Mady Long.
“Man, they competed," interim head coach Kenzie Brinkman said. "They went hard the entire time and I’m really excited for their future with Ohio.”
With the first set going to Ohio, the second set began. Both teams would trade scores a lot, with Ohio starting to run away with a 9-5 lead over Bucknell. Ohio eventually made this a 14-6 lead, but Bucknell wasn’t quitting, as after some service errors from Ohio and kills from Bucknell, it had brought the game within 2 points with the score being 23-21 in Ohio’s favor.
Despite Bucknell's best efforts not to let the set slip away, Ohio scored the final 2 points of the set, giving them a 25-21 victory. The players gave a lot of credit to coach Brinkman for helping them stay focused in this set.
“She gives us freedom," Long said. "She calms us down, helps us out, and tells us what she sees. We trust her.”
With Ohio needing one more set to win, Bucknell wouldn’t go down just yet. Despite Ohio getting another early lead by 4 points, Bucknell proceeded to score 6 unanswered points to take the lead and make the score 11-9. Both teams proceeded to trade scores until Ohio managed to tie the game at 16 apiece.
Both teams continued to go back and forth until the game was within 1 point with Bucknell still in the lead. With a kill from senior Bri Frazilus and a few errors from Ohio, Bucknell was able to go on a 3-0 run and take the set away from Ohio.
“As always a game of volleyball is a game of rounds,“ coach Brinkman said. "It was cutting those little runs but still staying aggressive.”
Staying aggressive is exactly what Ohio did, as with Bucknell scoring 3 points to start the fourth set off, Ohio answered back with 8 of its own. Ohio remained in control for most of this set with big plays from Blair, junior Emily Waddell, who had three kills in a row, and junior Olivia Gardner.
Ohio comfortably closed out the set with a score of 25-21, as it held the lead for almost the entire set. With Ohio winning the set, it gave them the game, which secured coach Brinkman’s first career win.
“I almost started crying,” Brinkman said. "I love these girls, and for them to go out there and play like that and with a great crowd, and doing something that I absolutely love, and watching them do something that they love, I don’t think it gets any better than that.”
Ohio vs. Iowa State
Coming off its first win of the season, Ohio started by scoring the first 2 points of the first set. Iowa State started a bit slower, as it let Ohio grab a 4-1 lead, but soon caught steam, taking a 5-4 lead in the blink of an eye. Ohio managed to let score again off a kill by junior Gentry Brown, but Iowa didn’t let up and ran the score up to 8-5. This became the story for the entire set, as Ohio’s offense couldn’t get much going and Iowa State proceeded to take the first set by a score of 25-18.
“We have to pass better," Brinkman said. "I don’t think our passing was as great as it was, which then our offense has to get a bit more vanilla.”
Iowa didn’t let up in the second set, but Ohio matched its energy, keeping the score close for most of the game. Mady Long had back-to-back service aces along with three kills, and Olivia Gardner had two kills of her own. These plays powered Ohio to tie the game at 23 each during the final moments, but Iowa State was able to secure the win off consecutive kills by senior Maya Duckworth. Iowa State had won both of the sets and needed one more to win, giving Ohio its first loss of the season.
“We got timid,“ Brinkman said. "We got timid at the end of games, and I think that was really the difference.”
Ohio proceeded to get blown out of the water during the third set as Iowa State opened up the set with 5 points and held a 7-1 lead over Ohio at one point. Ohio couldn’t get much going, and Iowa State’s offense was firing on all cylinders. It had multiple scoring runs of three or more points, while Ohio only had 13 points the entire game. Iowa State took the set and the game with a score of 25-13, handing Ohio its first loss of the season.
“I think athough it stings, I think it fuels the fire,“ Brinkman said. "For us, it's continuing to be aggressive and not stay away from blocks. That's when we need to swing harder, faster and stronger.
Ohio vs. Eastern Illinois
To start the first set, Ohio and Eastern Illinois seemed very even. Both teams traded scores on and off, but in what would become the story of the game, Ohio started to choke in the second half of the set, allowing big scoring runs from Eastern Illinois. Where Ohio was previously trading off one point each with Eastern Illinois, that turned into two points for Eastern Illinois for every Ohio point that was put up on the board. This resulted in a first-round loss for Ohio with a score of 25-21.
“I think maybe we felt a little bit too comfortable, felt good right off the bat,“ Brinkman said. "I think we started to coast and it cost us.”
The second set didn’t fare much better for Ohio as it continued to allow big scoring runs from Eastern Illinois in the second half after keeping the game close in the first half. Eastern Illinois went on to run 4 unanswered points this set while Ohio only had one of three scores. Eastern Illinois also scored the last three points of the set, which gave them the 25-20 win. Lots of mistakes on Ohio’s side led to points on Eastern Illinois, and that became another trend in this matchup.
“It goes back to just the simple things in volleyball,“ coach Brinkman said. "This is back-to-back nights that I don’t think we did the little things at all.”
Ohio seemed to come back with a vengeance in the third set, though, as after Eastern Illinois scored the first point, Ohio ran the scoreboard up with six of its own. Numerous kills, attack errors, and a service ace were behind this as Ohio’s offense looked like a powerhouse, and the defense was preventing anything from hitting the ground. Ohio held a 16-9 lead at one point, but once again let off the gas and proceeded to let Eastern Illinois go on an 11-4 run to tie the game at 20 scores each.
With both teams neck and neck, Eastern Illinois scored 2 quick points to take the lead, but Ohio answered with 2 more points to once again tie the game. Eastern Illinois took the set and game, though, as an attack error and two kills spelled doom for Ohio. In a set where it had a 7-point lead, it lost by 3.
“I’m trying to look at this as the most positive thing ever,“ coach Brinkman said. "We’re getting our two losses of our season out of the way right now so that we don’t have any more for the rest of the season.”
