Nov. 13, 2010
Final Stats
ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio's seniors went out in style on Saturday night with a 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-12, 25-18) victory over Bowling Green. Katie Post and Sue Jacobi continued their dominant play of late combining for 30 kills in the contest.
The senior class of Meryl Bender, Jacobi, Michelle Jantsch and Mandy Nichols have now won a total of 95 matches during their careers and are a combined 53-11 in Mid-American Conference play. This week, they captured their fourth-consecutive MAC East Division crown and will now try for a third MAC Tournament Championship next week.
"They are such a good group and they have done everything we as coaches have asked them to do," Head Coach Ryan Theis said. "They are all such great people and I'm truly happy for all the success they have had these last four years."
In the first set, Ohio received blocks from Post, Jantsch and Nichols to erase a one-point deficit and go ahead 4-2. The Bobcats would stay in control of the match until BG pulled even at 14-14. Two kills and a block by Jacobi allowed Ohio to regain a three-point advantage at 17-14 and forced a timeout by the Falcons.
Leading 22-19, a kill and ace by Post were followed by a kill from Jacobi to win the set. Nichols finished with four kills and two blocks for the Green & White while Post accumulated five kills and four blocks to go along with her ace. Ohio amassed six total team blocks and hit a match-best .387 en route to taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
Ohio staked itself to a 5-1 lead in the second set after two kills by Jantsch, kills by Post and Jacobi and an ace from Mollie Geske. However, BG evened things quickly at 5-5. Ohio retook the lead at 9-8 before five-consecutive Falcon points pushed them in front at 13-9.
The Bobcats continued to battle and took six of the next nine to close the gap to 16-15 on a block by Jacobi and Lexie Hartnett. After a BG timeout, Ohio continued to push but could not take the lead. Once again, the home team got within one on a kill by Nichols at 23-22 but BG hung tough and won the set 25-22.
After the break, Ohio led the third set 3-2 before scoring eight of the next nine points to take an 11-3 lead. The lead would eventually swell to double figures and the `Cats had their largest lead at 24-11. Post's fourth kill of the set would give Ohio a 2-1 lead in the match.
The junior also recorded four blocks and an ace while Jacobi registered five kills and two blocks and Nichols racked up three more blocks. Ohio also held BG to a match-low -.029 hitting percentage as it moved ahead on the scoreboard.
Ohio jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the fourth set on the strength of five kills and two blocks. Bowling Green would get back into things by taking eight of the next 12 points and closing the gap to 13-11 before Theis took a timeout to try and settle his troops. The decision worked as the Bobcats scored five of the next six to regain a sizable lead at 18-12.
Ohio's final block of the night and an attack error by the Falcons brought the match to a close as the fourth set ended 25-18. Post finished with five kills and two blocks while Hartnett added four kills and two blocks. Robins had her best set of the night at the end, knocking out two kills and denying three BG attempts.
"The theme has not changed," Theis added. "The longer we can play good volleyball, the better the chances are that we are going to win. We cross our fingers and hope now that we execute well enough in these next couple matches so we can win a championship."
Post finished the night with 16 kills and hit .444 while Jacobi added 14 kills for the Bobcats. Nichols added nine kills and six blocks while Hartnett finished with eight kills (.412) and five blocks. Post led the way for Ohio with 11 blocks, tying a career-high and giving her a first double-double of the season.
As a team, ohio finished with 17.0 total team blocks, which tied their second-highest match output of the season. The best total was 17.5 team blocks in a five-set loss at MAC regular-season champion Ball State.
Bender finished with 11 assists and 21 digs while Jantsch parlayed a 14-assists first set into a 38-assist night.
"Within the last three weeks we've played stretches that are the best we've played this season," Theis said. "I think if there's a time to get into a conference tournament, that time is now."
The Bobcats will now be the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament that starts with the first round on Tuesday and then resumes with the quarterfinals on Thursday. That will be the entry point for the Bobcats as they will receive a bye to Toledo and play at 7 p.m. on Friday night at the SeaGate Center.
