Sept. 24, 2005
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ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio volleyball team stretched its home winning streak to 31 with a 3-0 (30-16, 30-27, 30-16) sweep of Mid-American Conference foe Buffalo.
The Bobcats also extended their home game winning streak against MAC opponents to 25. Ohio has not lost a game at home since Sept. 25, 2004, when it dropped the third frame.
Melissa Griffin (Whitehall, Mich.) and Stephanie Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) paced the Bobcat attack with 14 kills each. Both had solid hitting percentages with Griffin hitting .414 and Blackburn .346. Blackburn went over 500 kills for her career with her first kill of the third frame. Holly Schetzsle (Pataskala, Ohio) recorded 13 kills and is just three short of 1,000 for her career.
Savanah Parra (Temecula, Calif.) played a well-rounded match, setting the Bobcat attack with 46 assists while adding three of her own. She narrowly missed her third consecutive double-double with nine digs and tied for the team lead with three service aces.
"Savanah was not feeling too well before the match," Head Coach Geoff Carlston said. "She really helped us with her serve and stressed out Buffalo with her serving."
Michaele Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) led Ohio with 23 digs while Stephanie Blackburn completed her sixth double-double of the year with 16 digs. Jenna Gaughran (Centerville, Ohio) added a career-high 10 digs. Julia Winkfield (Newark, Ohio) led Ohio's defense at the net with four total blocks. Her first assisted block of the night moved her into third place on Ohio's all-time assisted blocks list.
The Bobcats fell behind 2-1 in the opening moments of the match but responded with a 12-0 run behind the serving of Michaele Blackburn. Buffalo was able to cut the lead to 13-5 but would get no closer the remainder of the game. Ohio closed out the opening frame 30-16 following an ace from Stephanie Blackburn.
Ohio faced a different Buffalo team in the second game with the Bulls staying close throughout. The Bobcats held a two-point advantage at 11-9 but Buffalo went on a 7-3 run to grab a 16-14 lead. Ohio answered with a 5-1 run to retake the lead at 19-17 but the Bulls would not go away until the latter moments. With the game even at 26, The Bobcats scored four of the final five points to take the second frame 30-27.
"I liked how we played the last five points," Carlston said. "We came back and pulled away toward the end and that is the kind of thing we need to do. When it gets to be crunch time, it is important to finish strong."
The Bobcats and Bulls played to a close game in the decisive third frame until the closing stages. Ohio held a 20-16 lead before going running off 10 straight points behind Parra's serving. Schetzsle had three kills and Griffin two during the match-ending run.
Ohio improves to 12-2 overall and 2-0 in the MAC while Buffalo evens its record at 7-7 overall and 0-2 in the MAC.
The Bobcats will be back at The Convo Thursday when they host Kent State. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m.
