Nov. 17, 2006

Box Score

TOLEDO, Ohio - MAC Freshman of the Year Ellen Herman (Toledo, Ohio) registered a career-high 27 kills as No. 18 Ohio defeated Eastern Michigan, 3-2 (26-30, 30-18, 30-26, 29-31, 15-10) in the quarterfinal of the Mid-American Conference Championship in Toledo, Ohio on Friday night.

With the win, the Bobcats face off against Western Michigan in the semifinals on tomorrow, Sat. Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

"I just came out focused," said Herman. "I knew that we had to play well. We knew that they were going to come out and play their best against us, so it was just a matter of staying composed and seeing the blocks and hitting around them."

An anxious eighth-seeded Eastern Michigan took the nationally-ranked Bobcats to the limit. It is only the third five-game match the Bobcats have played this season and the second one they've won.

Following Herman on offense was junior Melissa Griffin (Whitehall, Mich.) with 21 kills on a team-best .381 hitting percentage. Griffin also totaled four blocks.

Sophomore Amanda Andersen (Lino Lakes, Minn.) matched her career-high with 18 kills on .333 hitting, she also chipped in five digs.

Junior Stephanie Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted her 15th double-double with 11 kills and a career-high 26 digs.

Senior Michaele Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) surpassed 2,000 career digs with an 18 digs performance on the night. She has 2,009 career digs which places her second on the MAC's all-time list.

Freshman Sarah Petrulis (Westlake, Ohio) set a career-high 15 digs and senior Janice Matacic (Liberty Township, Ohio) added nine to Ohio's defense.

Senior Savanah Parra (Temecula, Calif.) totaled 72 assists, just five shy of her career-high. Along with 11 digs, Parra recorded her 10th double-double of the season.

Eastern Michigan was led by Lindsay Piccolini with 25 kills. Victoria Randolph chipped in 15 kills and Katie Bates and Becky Reenders had 12 and 11 kills, respectively.

Eastern Michigan took an early 7-5 lead to open the frame but the Bobcats used a 2-0 run to knot the score at eight all. The Eagles regained the lead at 9-8, off an ace serve from Victoria Randolph, and maintained the lead en route to winning game one, 30-26.

Ohio got off to a quick start in game two by earning the first two points before pulling out to a 13-4 lead. Eastern Michigan scored four straight points and came within four at 13-8. Ohio used a 9-2 run of its own to for an eleven point advantage at 21-10. The Bobcats maintained the lead and pull ahead by 12 points three times before closing out game two with a 30-18 victory.

Both teams traded points to start game three but after a tie at three all, Eastern Michigan took a 4-3 lead that it maintained until Ohio came within two at 22-20 and used a 3-0 run to take the lead at 23-22. Eastern Michigan knotted the score 23-23 until Ohio went on another 3-0 run; including two kills by Andersen, for a three point advantage at 26-23, forcing an EMU timeout. The Eagles came back from timeout and cut the Bobcats' lead to two but Ohio stayed ahead and won the game by four, 30-26.

In game four, Eastern Michigan set the momentum early by earning the first point of the game and holding Ohio to at least six points. The Bobcats slowly chipped away at the Eagles' lead and came within one point at 20-19. Eastern Michigan increased its lead to 21-19 but Ohio went on a 3-0 run and took the lead for the first time at 22-21. The teams traded points and the score was tied seven times; lastly at 29-29. The Eagles scored two straight points; a kill by Piccolini and an Ohio attack error, sealed the win for the Eagles, 31-29.

Game five started with four ties; lastly at 4-4. Four straight kills by Herman lifted Ohio to an 8-6 lead that would turn into a five point advantage and the Bobcats won game five, 15-10. Herman had six kills in the game.

"In game five our mentality was to go out there and win," said Herman. "The fourth game was a pretty big upset. In game five we wanted to concentrate on our game plan which was to go out there and block, concentrate on their middle and just go up there and bang the ball."

Notes:
- Ohio wins its 400th NCAA match in program history with a 3-2 win over Eastern Michigan tonight.
- Three Bobcats recorded career-highs.
- Senior Michaele Blackburn surpasses 2,000 digs in her career.
- Bobcats win second five-game match of the year, they've played three total.
- Ohio advances to the MAC semifinals.