Oct. 24, 2009
Final Stats
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Ohio volleyball's (16-5, 8-1 MAC) undefeated conference winning streak finally came to an end Saturday night as the Bobcats dropped a tough 3-0 (25-13, 27-25, 25-21) decision to Western Michigan (16-9, 8-2 MAC) on the road.
Ellen Herman (Toledo, Ohio) tallied a match-high 19 kills and picked up 13 digs for her eighth double-double of the season to lead Ohio, while Sue Jacobi (Louisville, Ky.) knocked down 10 kills on .333 hitting. Michelle Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kan.) picked up 34 assists and nine digs.
Normally one of Ohio's calling cards, the `Cats strong offensive attack hit just .190 against a solid Bronco defense, which also managed to outdig the Green and White. Ohio picked up four team blocks on the evening, led by Meghan Simons (Lancaster, Ohio) and Katie Post (Steamwood, Ill.) led the way with two blocks apiece.
"Western Michigan just played terrific defense," Ohio coach Ryan Theis said. "They earned every break and every little point throughout the match."
WMU came out of the gates strong and took advantage of .485 hitting while limiting the `Cats to just .139 to take the first set. Ohio came back strong in the second set and took an early 7-3 lead. The Broncos fought back and eventually tied the score at 11. The two sides went back and forth throughout the rest of the set. Jacobi nailed down a kill to get the `Cats to set point at 25-24, but WMU managed to fight back with three straight points to take the set.
Ohio would not go down without a fight in the third set and continued to fight the Broncos nearly point for point early on. The Broncos managed to get a couple points to go up by four at 18-14. The Green and White continued to battle, but WMU was able to match the `Cats point for point to take the third set 25-21.
"They (WMU) simply outplayed us," Theis said. "We'll learn from this, make the necessary adjustments and get better."
Ohio will stay on the road next week as it heads to Kent State Thursday and Eastern Michigan Saturday. First serve with the Golden Flashes is set for 7 p.m.
