Ohio (6-14, 4-4 Mid-American Conference) came out victorious in a very close game against Eastern Michigan (10-11, 2-6 MAC). This was the first five set game Ohio has won this season, and the game also had impressive stat splits for Ohio. Four different Bobcats had at least 10 digs. Senior setter Kendall White was two blocks off of a triple double, sophomore outside hitter Sierra Evans set a career high with 10 kills and Emily Waddell had 10 blocks. Ohio dominated in every statistical category, but Eastern Michigan was still able to keep the game close.
“We thrive off of energy," said White. "I think that definitely helps all of our team get energy.”
The first set started off in the worst way possible for Ohio, as Eastern Michigan pulled away from Ohio after the game was close for most of the first set. The trademark of this set and the game as a whole was the very long plays that happened, as both teams would constantly return the ball which resulted in points coming in slowly. It turned into a slugfest quickly, one Eastern Michigan would win with a score of 25-18.
“Tuesday when we had practice, it was a grunge," said Ohio head coach Kenzie Brinkman. "I think it had a set that lasted for what felt like an hour, so I thought that really good kind of set into what we saw today.”
Ohio didn’t let up in the second set, as the team powered back after a defeating first set loss and fought until the last seconds. With the score tied 23-23, Waddell ended the game on a service ace, one of her five on the night. This set was characterized by many lead changes, and Brinkman had a few crucial timeout calls to get her team focused back in. Ohio won the second set with a score of 25-23.
“As a coaching staff being able to talk a little and keep calm and not scream or yell, like those kinds of things also helps a little bit," said Brinkman. "Hey, we trust you, go out there and continue to win. I think we’ve cultivated that trust this entire season.”
The third set was where the Bobcats looked the most dominant, as they went on a huge 7-0 run early in the set that propelled them to the win, despite letting the Eagles get some points. In the 7-0 run junior opposite hitter Torre Kildow had two kills, along with a kill and service ace from Waddell. Ohio looked poised to take the win after this set and won with a comfortable score of 25-17.
“All of my hitters are amazing, especially today," said White. "I think our passion is great, so I get everyone involved.”
Eastern Michigan had other plans than losing in four sets to Ohio, as it was able to take the fourth set in another very close slugfest that had the teams going back and forth until the final few plays. Ohio would gain a two or three point lead which Eastern Michigan would instantly take away until the final few plays where Ohio was up 23-22. Eastern Michigan scored three unanswered points to take the set away off of a kill and two attack errors.
“Volleyball is just ebbs and flows," said Brinkman. "At one point we’re up two points and we get a stop block. Then we’re rolling to the next point where they have game point and we’re down by one.”
With the score tied at two sets a piece, the fifth set would end up resulting in an extended set, as both teams took it down to the wire. Any mistake became costly for both teams and Eastern Michigan happened to make more of them, despite having Ohio in a corner toward the end of the set.
With Eastern Michigan up 14-13 and needing one more point to take the game, Ohio mounted a three-point scoring run with kills from junior outside hitter Gentry Brown and Kildow to take the game, extending its win streak to four games. This has been a huge turnaround for Ohio, who previously held a double-digit losing streak.
“It gives us momentum going into the next game," said Evans. "You know, you don’t want to go into the next game, because it's like OK we have to win this game. It feels good.”
With Ohio securing another win, it will face off against Eastern Michigan again, hoping to close out the series with two wins, which would put it above a .500 record in the MAC, further helping the late season playoff push from the team.
“Eastern is very scrappy, we’ll give them credit," said White. "Going back, watching film and seeing what we can do on our side to kind of make them more frantic."
