Oct. 8, 2010

Final Stats

Bowling Green, OHIO - Sue Jacobi and Lexie Hartnett had career nights and Mandy Nichols added 12 kills as Ohio battled back after dropping the first set to win at Bowling Green this evening, 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-20).

The Cats' (12-6, 4-1) remain undefeated on the road in MAC play this season and extend their conference winning streak on the road to six matches. Ohio has now won their last four matches against their rivals from BG.

"Hopefully these road wins will help us out in a tight, year-long conference race," Head Coach Ryan Theis said. "We still have three-straight road matches to go and we'll have to play our best to keep winning."

Jacobi finished with 18 kills, a team-high 12 digs and a career-high four aces while Hartnett added eight kills and matched her career-high with seven blocks. Nichols had an outstanding game as well with big first and fourth sets. As a team, Ohio outblocked BG 12.0-5.0. Michelle Jantsch had a team-high 32 assists and Katie Post hit a team-high .417 for the match.

"All the numbers looked pretty good across the board which equates to a total team effort," Theis said. "Once we stabilized ball control, Mij was able to get everyone good looks. A lot of the credit there goes to the play of Meryl Bender tonight. Also, other then a brief stint at the beginning of set four, that's the best we've probably served all season."

Ohio fell behind in the first set 3-0 before scoring four of the next five. Then, a kill by Nichols gave the team their first lead at 7-6. Bowling Green took a 15-12 lead on an attack error, thus matching their largest lead and forcing an Ohio timeout. The lead eventually grew to six before another Bobcat timeout at 21-15. Ohio closed the gap to two at 24-22 on another Nichols kill before BG took their second timeout to try and quell the rally. The decision paid off as BG won the first set 25-22.

BG held a 15-12 edge in kills and out-hit Ohio .452 to .281. Nichols had five kills and Jacobi had three kills, two aces and a block.

Ohio jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second set behind two kills from Hartnett and the Bobcats proceeded to score 10 of the first 12 points. BG cut the deficit to five at 14-9 before Ohio rolled off three in a row to retake an eight-point advantage. Once again, the Falcons cut the `Cat lead to five at 18-13 but a Staverman ace after two points would push the score back to 21-13. A service error by BG ended the set with the Green & White taking it 25-17.

The `Cats hit .380 for the set and held BG to a .182 hitting percentage. Jacobi and Hartnett each recorded three kills.

The way our serve-receive started, BG had a ton of looks early and their two primary attackers lit us up," Theis added. "Then as we started to control the ball better their looks got worse and we got better. We made nice adjustments to defend their two primary attackers and that made all the difference."

The third set started out 7-7 before Ohio ran off four-consecutive points (Hartnett kill, Jantsch ace, two BG errors) for an 11-7 lead. BG was able to retaliate and score six of the next eight to even the match 13-13. Kills by Post, Jacobi and blocks for Jantsch and Hartnett broke the deadlock and pushed Ohio in front 19-15. Three of the next four points also went to Ohio and BG took a timeout trailing 22-16. Jacobi's sixth kill, a block by Nichols and Hartnett and a kill by Nichols ended the match 25-19 for the `Cats.

Six different Ohio players earned kills and the team had their best blocking performance in a set, which led to the Falcons only hitting .100.

After allowing the first two points in the fourth set, Ohio responded with the next three for a quick lead. A four-point run while trailing 5-4 pushed the `Cats back out in front. Once again the set became even, this time at 10-10 and Ohio rattled off three-consecutive points. However, BG rallied for a 15-14 lead and forced an Ohio timeout. Tied 16-16, Nichols picked up three kills and single-handedly pushed the lead to 20-16. That run sent the Bobcats on their way to a 25-20 win and a four-set victory.

The blocking and digging by the Green & White improved all game and held BG to a match-low .069 hitting percentage and the fourth and final set. Nichols and Jacobi led the way for Ohio with five and six kills, respectively.

Ohio plays tomorrow at 5 p.m. against Miami.