Sept. 5, 2009
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Backed by a solid defensive effort and a balanced offensive attack, Ohio volleyball outlasted Georgia Tech for a 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 25-21, 21-25 and 15-8) win Saturday at the Blue Raider Bash.
"After a tough match yesterday, we lacked some confidence," Ohio coach Ryan Theis said. "We gained it as the match went on today. It was significantly better at the end. We had different players step up at different times today. We've blocked at an elite level at times throughout the tournament. We are going to need that as the season goes on."
Ohio (4-1) hit .266 on the day and picked up 16 blocks as a team while limiting the Yellow Jackets to just a .172 attack percentage. Sue Jacobi (Louisville, Ky.) matched a career-best 17 kills for the second day in a row and Ellen Herman (Toledo, Ohio) recorded 16 kills of her own. Jane Sytsma (Madison, Wisc.) had nine kills on a team-best .643 attack percentage, while also leading the Green and White with two solo blocks and seven block assists. Meghan Simons (Lancaster, Ohio) added five block assists of her own, while Herman and Michelle Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kan.) each had a solo block and three assisted blocks.
After dropping a tough first set to Georgia Tech (3-2), the Bobcats came back strong defensively in set two and limited the Yellow Jackets to just .068 hitting. The Green and White's offensive attack was in near full force in the third set, tallying 14 kills and on a .385 attack percentage behind clutch kills from Herman, Jacobi and Sytsma.
Georgia Tech came back to claim the third set and even the action at two sets apiece. The fifth and deciding set was almost all Bobcats. Ohio's defense held the Yellow Jackets to just .053 hitting, and the Green and White offense tallied nine total kills on .444 hitting to help Ohio claim the win.
Ohio will wrap up the Blue Raider bash tomorrow afternoon when it takes on host Middle Tennessee State. First serve is set for 3 p.m. ET with live stats available at OhioBobcats.com.
