Oct. 2, 2010
Final Stats
ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio Volleyball bounced back from a tough loss with a resounding victory over Buffalo on Saturday night in straight sets, 25-14, 25-19, 25-16. The 'Cats improved to 11-6, 3-1 in the MAC and 24-1 all-time vs. the Bulls.
Katie Post and Sue Jacobi dominated play for Ohio with 29 of the team's 43 kills on the evening. Post racked up 15 kills and hit .545, while Jacobi picked up 14 kills and also hit .545. The two of them, along with Lexie Hartnett, all finished with a match-high four blocks. Michelle Jantsch finished with a match-high 33 assists and Meryl Bender had a match-high eight digs.
"I thought our execution tonight was more consistent," Head Coach Ryan Theis said. "We're trying to get more consistent all year. That's our goal. I've been saying that for two or three weeks, and again, we have not peaked yet. Tonight wasn't "peaked" yet, just because the scores seemed that way. Buffalo's better than that- they just had a bad night. They were coming off five games on the road last night. Sometimes you get a team on an off night. But, our execution was more consistent tonight, which is what we need to continue to do."
The Bobcats hit .378 as a team, going .583 in the first set and .310 in the second to really set the tone. On the opposite side, UB was held to an .095 hitting percentage. Overall, Ohio had 13 more kills than Buffalo and 11.0 total blocks as opposed to UB's 5.0
"We ended the night with 11 (blocks), and our goal is always three a game," Theis added. "Sets one and two last night, we had five in each set, and then we ended with 12. Akron just refused to get blocked where as Buffalo, their hitter kept swinging into it and challenging it. I thought that we ended with 11 blocks- we probably could have had 15. Buffalo was covering a lot of balls. I thought our blockers did an awfully good job tonight."
The first set started off 2-2 before Ohio received three-consecutive kills. After a Buffalo point, they would get no closer as the 'Cats methodically pulled away for an easy win, 25-14. Jacobi had six kills, an ace, a block and an assist, while Post also accumulated six kills. The 16 team kills was a match-high for Ohio.
Buffalo led 13-10 in the second set before kills from Post and Jacobi knotted the score 14-14. The set was still tied 17-17 before Faith Robins picked up two kills and a block assist as the Bobcats jumped ahead 21-17. In fact, the Green & White scored eight of the final 10 points in the set for a big 2-0 advantage in the match. Post finished with five kills in the set and Robins added three kills and two blocks.
Ohio jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the third set before UB took the next four points for an early edge. The 'cats put the next four points on the board with Jantsch picking up a kill and a block assist. After Buffalo cut it to 8-7, the next five points went to Ohio. Much like the first set, this one was hardly in doubt after that point with the Bobcats pulling away for a 25-16 win. Jacobi and Post each had four kills and Hartnett added two. Jacobi also notched three blocks while Post and Hartnett had two each.
Ohio starts a four-game conference road swing next weekend with matches at Bowling Green and Miami. The 'Cats play the Falcons on Friday night at 7 p.m. and the Redhawks on Saturday at 5 p.m.
