On the eve of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, five Bobcats received All-MAC regular-season honors, as an Ohio sophomore has been named the MAC player of the year for the second consecutive season.
Setter Abby Gilleland was received MAC player of the year honors just one year after Kelly Lamberti took the title. Gilleland is the eighth player in program history to receive the award. Dhe also garnered MAC setter of the year honors, as she is the first-ever Bobcat to receive that award.
Three other Bobcats were also named to the All-MAC First Team, including junior outside hitter Kelly Lamberti, graduate student middle blocker Alexis Pinson and sophomore middle blocker Karin Bull. Freshman outside hitter Katie Horton was named to the All-MAC Freshman Team as well.
Four players are the most Bobcats named to one All-MAC First Team since 2009.
Abby Gilleland
Gilleland led Ohio’s offense with three MAC East offensive player of the week awards this season, as she was also named the Oregon Classic Most Valuable Player and the received Michigan Invitational All-Tournament Team honors.
During MAC play, Gilleland finished third in the conference in assists, with 11 per set, as she recorded more assists than the opposition’s setter in all 16 conference contests, while compiling a team second-best nine double-doubles on the year. She notched her career-best 61 assists in the MAC East-clinching match against Miami on Nov. 2, while reaching a career-best 22 digs against Western Michigan on Oct. 26.
Alexis Pinson
Pinson helped lead Ohio’s MAC-best front line with a team-high 1.43 blocks per set in conference play. The four-time MAC East defensive player of the week was named to the Baymont Inn Invitational All-Tournament Team in September.
She led the conference with a .359 hitting percentage in MAC contests and finished second-best in blocking, with 1.43 blocks per set. Pinson also finished 21st in the nation with 1.37 blocks per set.
The first-year Bobcat also aided the offense by recording double-digit kills eight times and added five or more blocks in 15 matches. She notched 14 blocks against then-No. 24 North Carolina on Sept. 6, which was the most by a Bobcat in more than four seasons and the most by a MAC player in a five-set match this year.
Kelly Lamberti
Lamberti received MAC offensive player of the week honors on Oct. 7 and finished the regular season with a team-high 16 double-doubles. She also recorded double-digit kills in 18-of-27 matches.
Lamberti also reached career marks of 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs this season, mahing her just the third player in program history to reach both marks in a career.
Despite suffering an injury during the middle of MAC play, Lamberti finished eighth in the MAC with 2.98 kills per set. She notched a season-high 21 kills and 15 digs at then-No. 10 Michigan in Sept.
Karin Bull
Bull was named to both the Baymont Invitational and Michigan Invitational All-Tournament teams during Ohio’s nonconference schedule. She also finished fourth in the MAC with 1.22 blocks per set in conference matches.
She also reached at least four blocks in 16-of-28 matches and hit .333 or better in 14 of those contests. Bull notched double-digit kills in 10 matches and recorded a career-best 12 combined blocks against Ball State on Oct. 19, which is the second-best by a MAC player in a five-set match this year.
Katie Horton
Horton was named the MAC East offensive player of the week once in September and received the WKU Invitational’s Most Valuable Player honors.
She ranks second on the Bobcats in kills per set and third in blocks per set. She also leads Ohio with 13 solo blocks and has notched double-digit kills in 12 of 28 matches played.
She has racked up 258 kills, which are most for an Ohio freshman since Kelly Lamberti’s 409 in 2011. Horton notched a career-high of 17 kills against Miami on Nov. 2, while knocking down a career-best eight combined blocks and 11 kills against Western Michigan in October.
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