Nov. 18, 2006
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio - The top-seeded Ohio volleyball team is now one win away from a fourth straight Mid-American Conference Tournament crown following a 3-0 (30-26, 30-27, 31-29) sweep of Western Michigan on Saturday. The Bobcats advance to play Bowling Green in the finals.
Junior Stephanie Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the Bobcats with a double-double of 17 kills and 13 digs, her 16th of the season. She also hit a team-best .455 percent and chipped in two ace serves.
Junior Melissa Griffin (Whitehall, Mich.) tallied 16 kills and hit .364 percent. Freshman Ellen Herman (Toledo, Ohio) added 15 kills and sophomore Amanda Andersen (Lino Lakes, Minn.) had six kills and two digs.
Senior Savanah Parra (Temecula, Calif.) set the offense with 48 assists to go along with 11 digs. Parra has 11 double-doubles on the season.
Senior Michaele Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) had 12 digs while senior Janice Matacic (Liberty Township, Ohio) and sophomore Molly Mangan (Claire, Ill.) chipped in seven apiece.
Western Michigan had three players with double-digit kills. Michelle Moore led the way with 15, Ashley Vogl chipped in 11 and Kathryn Babcock added 10 kills and 10 digs. Jenifer Sulewski recorded 43 assists and 14 digs.
Western Michigan opened the frame by outscoring Ohio 6-to-2. Ohio then went on a four point scoring frenzy; including two kills by Andersen to tie the score, 6-6. The game was tied four more times, until at 12-12 Ohio went on a 5-1 run and took the lead, 17-13. Western Michigan came back and outscored Ohio 7-to-3 to tie the game at 20-20. The teams exchanged points and the game was tied at 21-21, 22-22, 23-23, 24-24, and lastly at 25-25. A kill by Griffin sparked a 5-1 run that sealed an Ohio win of game one, 30-26.
Game two started with Western Michigan pulling ahead at 9-5, forcing an Ohio timeout. The Broncos maintained the lead and was up by five at 17-12. Ohio then scored four straight points to tie the score, 17-17. Western Michigan regained the lead at 18-17 but Ohio kept fighting and forced another tie at 19-19. The Bobcats used a 3-0 run to take their first lead at 22-19. Western Michigan was able to tie the game at 24-24 but Ohio rallied a 6-3 run to win the game, 30-27.
Game three was tied seven times before Western Michigan managed to build a three point lead at 11-9, a lead they kept until Ohio went on an 11-1 run that put the Bobcats up 27-21. Griffin had three kills in the run and posted a solo block. After a kill by Herman gave Ohio game point at 29-24, an Ohio error gave Western Michigan possession and the Broncos came back with a 5-0 run that tied the game, 29-29. Two unanswered points; including a kill by Griffin, closed the game and the victory for Ohio, 31-29.
The Bobcats and the Falcons will square off in the finals of the MAC Tournament tomorrow at 1 p.m. Ohio swept Bowling Green at the Convocation Center on Nov. 11. The match will be televised live on Fox Sports Net Ohio.
