Dec. 5, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Despite a double-double that featured a career-high 32 kills by junior outside hitter Ellen Herman, the Ohio University volleyball team dropped a five-set (19-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 14-16) decision to Ivy League champion Yale in the first round of the NCAA Championship on Friday.
"It came down to execution, and that eluded us at key times tonight," Ohio head coach Ryan Theis said. "Yale played great, and they earned some tough points when they needed them. This is a disappointing loss, but our players can be proud of the season they put together and we'll learn from this as we move forward."
Herman collected her 32 kills on 80 swings, both of which are career highs and rank third on the program's single-match charts, while also adding 13 digs and a pair of blocks. She finished the campaign as the Bobcats' single-season record holder in kills in the rally scoring era, and fell just seven shy of claiming the school's overall single-season record.
Junior middle blocker Jane Sytsma (Madison, Wis.) ripped 14 kills on a team-high .320 hitting, while senior opposite hitter Amanda Andersen (Lino Lakes, Minn.) added 10 to give Ohio three players with double-figure kill totals.
Sophomore setter Michelle Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kan.) handed out a match-high 55 assists to direct the Ohio offense to a .251 hitting percentage, while also posting three aces and a trio of blocks on the afternoon.
Ohio enjoyed advantages in both the digs and blocks columns on Friday, holding a 76-74 edge in digs and out-blocking the Bulldogs, 13.0-10.0. Junior libero Sarah Petrulis (Westlake, Ohio) tallied a match-high 19 digs to lead a quintet of Bobcats in double digits, while sophomore outside hitter Sue Jacobi (Louisville, Ky.) chalked up a career-best five block solos - a figure that ties for fourth on Ohio's single-match chart - as part of a six-block afternoon.
Herman reached a personal milestone with the sixth of her team-high seven kills in the first set, becoming the first Ohio player in the rally scoring era to reach 500 in a season, though the Bobcats dropped the opener by a score of 25-19. Jantsch also etched her name onto the program's single-season service ace chart in set one with her 45th of the season, tying Lori McCall's total from the 2000 campaign.
A block solo by Jacobi propelled Ohio to an 11-7 advantage and forced Yale into a timeout early in the second set. The Bobcats' lead grew to 16-11 after Jantsch and freshman middle blocker Katie Post (Streamwood, Ill.) teamed up for three-straight blocks, but 4-1 Yale run prompted an Ohio timeout with the Green & White in front, 17-15. Jacobi picked up another solo block after consecutive Herman kills to increase the lead to 20-16 and yet again send the Bulldogs into a timeout. Yale stormed back to tie the set at 21-21, and the teams sided out over the next four rallies before Jantsch found space with a setter dump to force set point at 24-23 and a Yale hitting on the next rally sent the Bobcats into the locker room with a 25-23 win in the second frame.
Herman fired her 19th kill of the afternoon to give Ohio a 14-12 edge in the scrappy early stages of the third set, only to see Yale come back to take a 16-15 lead. A Sytsma kill put Ohio up, 18-17, but Yale once again charged back to take a 20-17 lead. Ohio leveled the score at 20-20 with another kill by Sytsma and a Yale attack error, but the Bulldogs were able to out-duel the Green & White down the stretch and took the third set, 25-23.
The Bobcats opened set four with a 6-1 run, powered by a pair of Herman kills, to force Yale to burn an early timeout. The lead reached 17-10 when the Bulldogs asked for their final timeout of the set with Ohio in the midst of a 4-0 run, but the Bobcats would go on to build a lead as big as nine points en route to forcing a fifth set. Herman provided the set-four clincher with her 29th kill of the day, marking a career high with a set still left to play.
Both Herman and Andersen notched two kills to help give Ohio an 8-6 lead at the changeover in the fifth set, but Yale came back with a 3-0 run to take a 9-6 edge. Ohio rode kills by Herman and Jacobi to a 13-11 lead, but couldn't hold the advantage as Yale was able to take advantage of a pair of Bobcat errors en route to clinching the match.
Ohio finishes the season with a 24-8 record, marking its seventh-straight campaign with at least 20 victories.
