In Ohio’s final chance to prove itself deserving of an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, the Bobcats defeated Notre Dame in a thrilling, five-set match to conclude the regular season Friday.
The Bobcats (21-10) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead heading into intermission, after edging out the Fighting Irish (20-9) in each of the first two sets with victories of 25-23, but Notre Dame did not back down.
Following the break, Notre Dame coasted to a 25-15 victory in the third set, in which the Bobcats did not lead. After cutting their deficit to 2-1 in the match, the Fighting Irish were able to close out the fourth set 25-21 and force a fifth.
In the final set of the match, Ohio and Notre Dame traded points back-and-forth for the majority of the set, but the Fighting Irish called the first time out of the set with Ohio leading 12-11.
After the timeout the Bobcats scored four consecutive points to clinch the set and the match victories, which was Ohio’s 15th of the season in The Convo.
Leading the way for Ohio was sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Bilger, who finished with a match-high 18 kills. Three other Bobcats also recorded double-digit kills, as sophomore middle blocker Serena Warner and sophomore outside hitter Kelly Lamberti both notched 12, while freshman middle blocker Karin Bull finished with 10.
Defensively, freshman libero Meredith Ashy recorded a team-high 23 digs, while Warner blocked the Fighting Irish four times.
The Bobcats will wait until Sunday to learn their fate for the NCAA Tournament, as the field of 64 teams will be unveiled on ESPNU at 4 p.m. Entering Friday’s match with Notre Dame, Ohio possessed an RPI of 62.
Ohio has played eight teams that currently have an RPI higher than 62, however the Bobcats have fared only 2-7 in those matches, having played Bowling Green twice.
Ohio coach Ryan Theis said leading up to the match with Fighting Irish that chances of the Bobcats being selected to the tournament are slim. Ohio exited the Mid-American Conference Tournament in the semifinal round after losing in five sets to Northern Illinois, despite holding the No. 1 seed.
QUICK STATS:
OHIO 3, Notre Dame 2
— The Bobcats clinched the victory in the fifth set, despite winning the first two.
— Ohio is now 2-3 in five-set matches this season, having lost its previous two.
— The match was the final of the regular season, but Ohio will await word on being selected to the NCAA Tournament.
cl027410@ohiou.edu
