Sept. 22, 2007
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio - Senior middle blocker Melissa Griffin (Whitehall, Mich.) had 18 kills on a .727 hitting percentage to lead the No. 19 Ohio volleyball team to a 3-0 (30-11, 30-14, 30-23) victory over Akron at Rhodes Arena Saturday evening. Ohio (10-3) improves to 2-0 in the Mid-American Conference and has now won 52-straight conference matches, while Akron falls to 0-2 in MAC play and 8-7 overall.
Griffin was joined in double-digit kills by senior outside hitter Stephanie Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio), who finished with 10 kills and 13 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Sophomore middle blockers Amanda Andersen (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and Meghan Simons (Lancaster, Ohio) contributed to the Bobcats' attack with eight kills each and freshman setter Michelle Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kansas) recorded a match-high 28 assists.
For the second straight match the Bobcats cruised to victory by out-hitting their opponents by a significant margin. Ohio connected on a .415 hitting percentage and held Akron to a .070 hitting percentage en route to the straight games victory. Junior defensive specialists Molly Mangan (Claire, Ill.) led the Ohio defense with a match-high 18 digs.
Ohio set the tone for the match early, getting out to a 10-2 lead in game one and coasting to a 30-11 victory. Griffin, who only had two attacking errors in 22 attempts for the match, connected on seven of eight attack attempts in the game.
In the second game the Bobcats out-hit the Zips .536 to .040. Griffin connected on all six of her attack attempts in the game, single-handedly matching the kill total for Akron's entire team. Ohio began the game scoring the first seven points and 12 of the first 15, on its way to a 30-14 win.
The Bobcats almost fell behind for the first time in the match in the third game, but Akron never managed to take the lead. The Zips brought the score to 14-12, but Ohio responded with a 7-1 run to end any chances at a comeback attempt. Ohio went on to win the third game, 30-23.
Ohio returns home for its first home match in 11 outings against Miami on Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. In its next match, Saturday, Sept. 29, the Ohio volleyball team is attempting to break the attendance record for a volleyball match in the state of Ohio. The Bobcats take the court against Bowling Green at 6:30 p.m. in the Convocation Center, immediately following the Ohio football game against Kent State. Fans from the football game are encouraged to come directly from Peden Stadium to the Convocation Center to take part in making history. Fans that show a ticket stub from the football game will be granted free admission to the volleyball match and all other tickets will be $2. Free tickets to the volleyball match are available at the Citizens Bank of Athens. The record for the most fans at a volleyball match in the state of Ohio is 5,402, set by Ohio State in 1991.
