After winning the Mid-American Conference regular season title last fall, Ohio will begin its 2013 campaign this weekend with a pair of road matches against Buffalo and Akron.
No. 22 Ohio took the floor against four ranked teams during its non-conference schedule and is set to begin MAC play as the conference’s only team that has received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
“MAC play is a lot different; teams in the MAC aren’t as big as teams we’ve been playing this preseason,” said Meredith Ashy, sophomore libero. “MAC teams are very good too, so we’re going to have to keep focusing. We have a number by our name, but that doesn’t matter because we’re in conference play now.”
The Bobcats hit the road on Friday to face the Bulls (12-1) in both teams’ first MAC match.
The Bulls opened their season with 12 consecutive wins before being knocked off by No. 13 Ohio State in a straight-set sweep this past Saturday.
Buffalo leads the MAC in blocks with 3.12 blocks per set, while Ohio is the runner up with an average of just 2.50 blocks.
The Bulls have also been able to keep their opponents’ hitting percentage at just 099, which is also the best in the MAC. This will be a match of two strengths as the Bobcats possess the conference’s best hitting percentage .274.
Ohio leads the all-time series against Buffalo 29-2, which includes two straight-set sweeps last season.
“Buffalo seems to be scoring a ton of points blocking, attacking and (with) aces so they’re going to give you your hands full, and we’re going to have to play efficiently,” coach Ryan Theis said. “They’ve got a few very physical attackers that we’ve got to get stops on.”
After visiting the Empire State, the Bobcats will make the trek back to Ohio to face the Zips (6-5) in Akron.
In the preseason coaches’ poll, Akron was picked to finish fifth in the MAC this year.
Freshman setter Karley Kusan leads the Zips with 211 assists on the season, while senior outside hitter Alex Cocklin also paces the squad with 122 kills and ranks eighth in the MAC with 3.21 kills per set.
Ohio has taken the last five decisions against the Zips and leads the all-time series 32-23.
“We’ve seen Akron’s top outside hitter a lot; she’s a senior,” Theis said. “They also have a middle that’s awfully efficient.”
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Up Next:
Friday
7 p.m. at Buffalo
Saturday
5 p.m. at Akron
