Sept. 26, 2008
ATHENS, Ohio -
Junior outside hitter Ellen Herman and senior opposite hitter Amanda Andersen combined for 21 kills on Friday night to lead the Ohio University volleyball team to a sweep (30-28, 25-17, 25-17) of Akron in front of 2,373 fans at the Convocation Center.
With the victory, the Bobcats extended their winning streak in MAC openers to seven in a row, while also winning their eighth-straight meeting with the Zips, all coming in straight sets.
"We got off to a bit of a rough start but made some great early adjustments and started to play well," Ohio head coach Ryan Theis said. "We wanted to get Ellen as many swings as possible to lead our offense, and Amanda Andersen really came off the bench and lit us up."
Herman (Toledo, Ohio) led all players with 11 kills on the evening, while Andersen (Lino Lakes, Minn.) put down a season-high 10 on .750 hitting, marking the fourth-best single-match hitting percentage in school history (minimum 10 kills). The duo accounted for more than half of the Bobcats' 40 kills in the match, setting the tempo with a combined eight kills in the first set.
Junior middle blocker Meghan Simons (Lancaster, Ohio) had eight kills on the night, while fellow junior middle Jane Sytsma (Madison, Wis.) and sophomore outside hitter Sue Jacobi (Louisville, Ky.) had five and four, respectively. Sophomore setter Michelle Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kan.) turned in a match-high 36 assists on the evening, a season best for a three-set contest.
A pair of Bobcats also posted double-figure dig totals on Friday night, as junior libero Sarah Petrulis (Westlake, Ohio) registered 16 for the second-straight match and sophomore defensive specialist Meryl Bender (Yorktown, Ind.) had 10 to mark the second double-digit effort of her career. Ohio turned in 52 digs as a team against Akron to better its season high in a three-set match by 16 (36 vs. UCLA on Aug. 29). Herman finished with nine digs to narrowly miss a double-double, and Jantsch helped out with five in the win.
Ohio was also active around the net against the Zips, limiting UA to a .086 hitting percentage on the strength of 9.0 total blocks. Simons had five rejections and Jacobi posted four to propel the conference-leading Bobcats to a 9.0-7.0 statistical edge over the team directly beneath them in the MAC blocks standings. Andersen also blocked Akron three times, and Herman finished with a pair on the night.
With the win, the Bobcats are now 6-1 on the year when leading in blocks, and sport a 5-1 record when holding an advantage in the digs department.
Herman also concluded the match with 12.5 points to surpass former Ohio star Lindsay Judice for 10th place on the school's all-time chart. She currently has 1,179.5 to her credit, and stands 50.5 points behind Kristina Whitfield for ninth place in program history.
The Bobcats will wrap up the weekend tomorrow night when they host Buffalo at 7 p.m. ET. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. ET, and fans can purchase tickets at the Ohio Ticket Office prior to the contest. Live stats will be available via www.ohiobobcats.com.
