Pregame
Ohio (20-4, 10-2 MAC) came into Friday after sweeping a pair of matches against Akron and Buffalo last weekend. The Bobcats held a two-match lead in the Mid-American Conference East Division standings.
Bowling Green (12-12, 8-4 MAC) fell to Ohio in a straight-set sweep on Oct. 5., when the Bobcats out-blocked the Falcons 13-6. Bowling Green trails Ohio in the MAC East standings by two matches, so a win on Friday would clinch the division for Ohio.
Falcons outside hitter Paige Penrod paces the offense and is ninth in the MAC with 3.14 kills per set, while libero Ashley Dunn is sixth with 4.62 digs per set. During the teams' first meeting this season, Penrod notched 11 kills, while Dunn registered 23 digs.
First Set
Bowling Green started the match with two straight points, but then Ohio put together a 5-0 run, including two straight kills by Katie Horton, which put the Bobcats up 5-2.
The teams exchanged points, but then a kill by Abby Gilleland and an ace by Kelly Lamberti gave the Bobcats a four point lead. Bowling Green came back with two straight points of its own to cut Ohio's lead to 12-10.
After an Ohio point, Bowling Green scored three straight points to tie the set at 13. The Bobcats then came back with three of their own, including a kill by Horton and an ace by Gilleland. Ohio then led 16-13.
The teams went back and forth, but then a kill by Alexis Pinson was follwed directly by a kill by Liis Kullerkann, which gave Ohio a 19-16 lead. Bowling Green called timeout.
Geneva Yee started with an ace right after the timeout, but then Bowling Green answered with a point. Ohio finished the set on a 5-3 run, including two kills by Horton in the last three points. Horton finished the set with a team-high six kills.
Final: Ohio 25, Bowling Green 20
Second Set: Ohio 1, Bowling Green 0
The teams exchanged two points each, but then four straight points gave Bowling Green a 6-2 lead. Ohio called timeout.
The teams exchanged points, but then a 5-2 run, capped off with three straight Ohio errors, gave Bowling Green a 15-8 lead. Ohio called another timeout.
After the timeout two more Ohio errors gave Bowling Green a 17-8 lead, but Ohio then scored four of the next six points to cut its deficit to 19-12.
Bowling Green scored a point, but then kill by Karin Bull and Kelly Lamberti, along with an ace by Brooke Coleman helped Ohio put together an 8-3 run. Bowling Green called timeout, as it led 20-16.
The teams exchanged points, but then two straight points by Ohio cut Bowling Green's lead to 22-20.
Bowling Green then finished the set by scoring three of the last four points, including two straight kills.
Final: Ohio 21, Bowling Green 25
Third Set: Ohio 1, Bowling Green 1
Bowling Green took a quick 3-2 lead, but then four straight points by Ohio, including a Pinson kill, gave Ohio a 6-3 lead. Bowling Green called timeout.
The teams went back and forth, but then six straight points by Bowling Green gave the Falcons the lead, at 12-9. Ohio called a timeout.
The teams exchanged points again, but then Bowling Green scored four points in five plays. Ohio then called another timeout, as the Bobcats trailed 17-12.
The Bobcats cut into the deficit a little bit with kills by Pinson and Gilleland, but then the Falcons scored five out of six points in a row, giving them an eight point lead late in the set. Bowling Green then led 24-16.
A kill by Lamberti and two Bowling Green attack errors helped Ohio stay alive for the moment, but then the Falcons killed the ball and took the third set by six.
Final: Ohio 19, Bowling Green 25
Fourth Set: Ohio 1, Bowling Green 2
Two kills each by Pinson and horton helped Ohio get off to leads of 5-2, 6-4 and 7-5. Bowling Green then scored twice to tie the set at 7.
The Falcons scored three of the next four points to take a three point lead, but then a kill by Bull helped the Bobcats tie the set back up at 10 apiece.
Bowling Green then scored three straight points to take a 13-10 lead. Ohio called timeout.
Kills by Lamberti and Bull and an ace by Meredith Ashy helped Ohio put together a 5-1 run, giving the Bobcats a 15-14 lead.
The teams exchanged points, then a three point swing by Bowling Green gave it a two point lead. Ohio called timeout, as it trailed 19-17.
The two teams went back in forth until Bowling Green committed two straight errors, which gave Ohio a 23-22 lead. The Falcons called timeout.
The teams exchanged two points, but once Bowling Green held a 25-24 lead, Pinson killed the ball during a two point swing. The Falcons called timeout, as they trailed 26-25.
Bowling Green tied the set at 26, but a kill by Pinson and a Falcon attack error gave the Bobcats the set by two.
Final: Ohio 28, Bowling Green 26
Fifth Set: Ohio 2, Bowling Green 2
Kills by Bull, Lamberti and Gilleland helped give Ohio an early 5-1 lead. Bowling Green called timeout.
Bowling Green scored two out of the first three points after the timeout, but then a kill by Horton helped Ohio get back out to a 7-3 lead.
The teams exchanged points, then two straight scores by Bowling Green cut Ohio's lead to just one. Ohio then scored three of the next four points, including a kill by Horton, which gave the Bobcats a 13-10 lead late in the set.
The Bobcats scored two of the final three points, including an ace by Gilleland.
Final: Ohio 15, Bowling Green 11
Final: Ohio , Bowling Green (25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 28-26, 15-11)
Ohio
Abby Gilleland - 51 assists, 10 digs, 2 aces, 4 kills
Kelly Lamberti - 12 kills, 12 digs, 1 ace, 3 assists
Alexis Pinson - 12 kills, 4 blocks, 2 digs
Meredith Ashy - 19 digs, 1 ace, 3 assists
Katie Horton - 15 kills, 3 blocks, 1 assist
Bowling Green
Lindsey Butterfield - 19 kills, 6 digs, 3 aces, 1.5 blocks, 2 assists
Laura Avila - 48 assists, 22 digs, 1 block, 4 kills
Jelena Sunjic - 18 kills, 1.5 blocks, 2 digs
Up Next
Ohio (21-4, 11-2 MAC) clinched at least a tie in the MAC East with this victory over Bowling Green. The Bobcats are now in first place in the MAC, as Ball State lost to Toldeo on Thursday.
Miami (11-14, 3-10 MAC) beat Kent State on Friday after dropping each of its past five matches. The RedHawks took a set against the Bobcats on oct. 4 during their 3-1 loss. Miami was held to a .099 hitting percentage during that match.
