Sept. 29, 2005
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio volleyball team stretched its home winning streak to 32 and its game winning streak to 15 with a 3-0 (30-15, 30-19, 30-25) sweep of Kent State tonight at the Convocation Center..
The Bobcats also extended their home game winning streak against MAC opponents to 28. Ohio has not lost a game at home since Sept. 25, 2004, when it dropped the third frame.
Holly Schetzsle (Pataskala, Ohio) reached a career milestone when she recorded her 1,000th career kill early in the first frame. She is the second Bobcat to reach the mark this season and the seventh player to reach it in Ohio history.
The Bobcat offense was working on all cylinders tonight as all six starters hit .368 or better for the match. Amanda Andersen (Lino Lakes, Minn.) had her best match as a Bobcat, recording a career-best 11 kills while hitting .381. Julia Winkfield (Newark, Ohio) tied Andersen for team honors with 11 kills while Schetzsle added 10. Ohio hit a season-high .389 for the match, recording 48 kills while committing only six errors.
"Amanda (Andersen) did some good technical stuff in terms of body position on the sets," Head Coach Geoff Carlston said. "She was a problem for Kent. They had to make some choices and one of the choices they made was to let her go one-on-one. If she's one-on-one, she proved she can put some balls away tonight."
Savanah Parra (Temecula, Calif.) set the Bobcat attack, assisting on 40 of the 48 Ohio kills. Michaele Blackburn led the squad with 14 digs while Stephanie Blackburn added 13. Winkfield and Andersen led the Bobcat defense at the net with three total blocks each.
"We passed very well," Carlston said. "If we can pass well, we can compete with anyone. Savanah (Parra) did a nice job spreading out the offense. "
The Ohio defense also had a strong game, holding Kent State to a .090 hitting percentage. That marked the fifth time this season the Bobcats have held an opponent under a .100 hitting percentage.
The opening game was neck and neck in the early going with the Golden Flashes playing even with Ohio at 6-6. The Bobcats pulled away at that point, going on a 12-3 run to grab an 18-9 lead. They would push the lead to double-digits at 22-12 and closed out the frame with a 30-15 win.
It was more of the same in the second game with Ohio racing out to a 10-5 lead. The Bobcats increased their lead to 20-10 when Kent State ran off three straight points to close within seven. That was as close as Ohio would allow the Golden Flashes to get though as the Bobcats scored 10 of the final 16 points to take the second frame 30-19.
Kent State appeared it would go away easy in the final game as Ohio jumped out to a 10-5 lead. The Golden Flashes trimmed the Bobcat lead to 15-13 and stayed within reach for the rest of the game. The Ohio offense was just too tough for Kent State as the Bobcats took the final frame 30-25.
The Bobcats improve to 13-2 overall and 3-0 in Mid-American Conference action. Kent State falls to 5-9 overall and 1-2 in the MAC.
Ohio will be on the road for the first time in MAC play when it takes on Eastern Michigan Saturday. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m.
