Ohio (9-15, 7-5 Mid-American Conference) has continued its scorching of the MAC with a 3-0 win over Kent State (8-15, 3-8 MAC). Ohio didn’t give Kent State’s offense a chance despite the Golden Flashes making the score look better than its play. In both of its games against Kent State, Ohio has swept them. Kent State was also the team that Ohio beat to start its 7-1 streak in the MAC.
“We are a completely different team than we were, not just in personnel but the way we are playing," Ohio head coach Kenzie Brinkman said. "We are playing some very good volleyball."
This win has been the culmination of the Bobcats’ stretch, as they look like a whole new team since getting that first win against Kent State. This was shown in the rotations today, with senior Kendall White injured, all of Ohio’s players managed to contribute and make up for the hole she left on the court.
“It’s really hard to defend against a team where half of the hitters are good, and that's been our mantra this year, to have tons of talent in the front row when we pass,“ Brinkman said. "It’s been refreshing to see that we are actually executing that.”
The Bobcats had numerous stat lines today, which showed their improvement throughout the season. Junior Emily Waddell had an .800 hitting percentage, and the team also had six service aces today. This looks like a new team, and it goes back to coach Brinkman’s philosophy on serving.
“Once you keep doing it and you stay the course, and you continue to have that service pressure, those balls will eventually fall," Brinkman said. "I couldn’t ask for more.”
With the serves falling, the entire Bobcat offense has gelled together well, with many players having big contributions like junior Gentry Brown and freshman Bailey Blair. Blair led the team in kills against Kent State with 12 of her own, while Gentry had seven. Sophomore Sierra Evans also contributed up front with another seven kills. Overall, the Bobcats had 44 kills compared to Kent State’s 30. This has been a storyline for the season as Ohio has dominated the kill stat column during MAC play.
“We’re playing for something bigger than us, playing for our teammates," said Waddell. "It really just all clicked together one day.”
This game also showed how good at adapting early in the game Ohio has been in its recent stretch. Kent State came out with a game plan to meet Ohio at the net, resulting in early points for Kent State in the first set, along with having five blocks to Ohio’s three throughout the game. Ohio was able to adapt to this change and take the first set with a score of 25-13, a dominant showing, proving that Ohio is here to stay.
“Our coverage was really good at the beginning,” said Brown. "We were able to get a lot of those balls up and give our hitters another try, another shot, and put the ball down again.”
With the Bobcats having such a hot streak, including a win against top-seeded Ball State, this puts them on the map for other MAC teams leading up to the tournament. Every game has turned into a must-win for Ohio. Despite taking the fifth seed in the MAC with this win, it is currently tied with Bowling Green and has Central Michigan right on its trail, meaning the pressure is still on the Bobcats in the coming weeks. Ohio will be playing Central Michigan in its next two games, which has been another hot MAC team, and one of these teams could cool off.
“It starts with just coming in, focusing and just scouting Central Michigan," Brown said. "Everybody is going to be gunning for us now.”
