The Bobcats are now headed back to Athens with a 4-4 season record after a pair of disappointing losses at Penn State University. They took on two fearsome, nationally ranked opponents, No.12 Penn State on Saturday and No.4 Stanford on Sunday. Both opponents ultimately lived up to their pedigrees, but Ohio did not go down easily in either match.
Ohio’s two-game slate began against the weekend’s host, the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Bobcats displayed a valiant effort in the match, keeping both of the first two sets very close before ultimately dropping both nail-biters. Ohio fell by a combination of just six points in those sets, letting Penn State narrowly escape 25-21 in the first and 25-23 in the second.
Penn State flipped the switch in set three, proving its national ranking and taking care of the Bobcats handedly and completing the 3-0 sweep with a 25-9 win. The driving force for Penn State was its front-line hitters, as they took advantage of Ohio’s defense, winning the kills battle 38-29.
Unlike in the Penn State match, the Bobcats sustained their competitive level of play throughout Sunday’s match against Stanford. However, it ultimately was unable to take down the top-five opponent, losing in another sweep. Stanford controlled the tempo and combated Ohio’s resistance, winning three straight sets, 25-18, 25-17 and 25-16.
The Bobcats left that match with a handful of positive takeaways despite the sweep, as all three sets stayed competitive and they were able to keep pace with Stanford on the stat sheet. Stanford finished with 39 kills, and the Bobcats only narrowly trailed with 36. Ohio shot itself in the foot with a load of attack errors, though, as it committed 23 compared to Stanford’s five.
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Bailey Blair, sophomore opposite hitter, carried the torch for Ohio over the weekend, but the team was unable to ride her strong play into a win in either match. She tallied 11 kills against Penn State and seven against Stanford, but Ohio was outmatched against both opponents, and Blair’s efforts fell short.
Blair will be a key piece for the Bobcats all season long, as she has proved very reliable thus far. Her strong start is highlighted by her team-leading 86 kills through the first eight matches, and she has shown no signs of slowing down.
The Bobcats will return to the Convo on Friday with a double-header on deck in their home opener. They will face Morgan State at 10 a.m. and University of North Carolina at Asheville at 7 p.m. That pair of matches will be an opportunistic change of both competition and scenery for Ohio and will give it an opportunity to snap its three-game losing streak and improve on its 4-4 record.
