Nov. 26, 2010
Final Stats
ATHENS, Ohio - In its final tuneup before the NCAA Tournament and facing the highest-ranked foe to ever step foot inside the Convo, Ohio volleyball battled the No. 12 team in the land, Dayton, strong before falling 3-0 (20-25, 23-25, 15-25) Friday night.
Katie Post (Streamwood, Ill.) totaled 11 kills on 22 swings for a .455 attack percentage to help lead the Bobcats, while Sue Jacobi (Louisville, Ky.) tallied nine kills and nine digs. Lexie Hartnet totaled six blocks, five assisted and one solo, to help lead the Green and White, the nation's top blocking team. She joined with Faith Robins (Winston Salem, N.C.) and Mandy Nichols (Greenwood, Ind.) with five kills apiece. Senior Meryl Bender (Yorktown, Ind.) tallied 17 digs from her libero position.
"Lexie (Hartnett) and Katie (Post) both played well," Ohio coach Ryan Theis said. "Down the stretch we wanted to get them the ball more, but at that point our ball control had broken down. They both played great. I wish we could have gotten them the ball more."
Facing a strong defensive Flyer squad across the net, Ohio hit .168 as a team while totaling 10 team blocks overall. Dayton hit .225 overall while recording 46 kills as a team, but the Flyers were never able to get too comfortable on the evening, as the `Cats kept battling back and keeping the pressure on them.
"We just weren't able to produce on the pins tonight," Theis added. "Now, we're anxious to see the draw (for the NCAA Tournament). It's all about what happens from there and the matchup we get."
Dayton got the first two points of the match before the `Cats came back to tie the score on a Post service Ace. With the score even at three apiece, the Flyers went on an 8-2 run to go ahead 11-5. Dayton went up by as many as eight points and looked as if it would comfortably take the first set with a 23-16 advantage. The Green and White scored four of the next five points to cut it to 24-20 after smashes from Jacobi and Nichols. Dayton managed to get the final point to take the first set 25-20.
Jacobi, Nichols and Post each had three kills in the set, while the `Cats hit .294 as a unit.
Action was tight early in the second frame. Down 4-3, Ohio surged ahead to take a two-point advantage after a pair of Jacobi kills that sparked a 3-0 run. The Flyers came back to tie things a short time later and matched the `Cats point for point before Ohio went up 14-12 after a Post kill. The Green and White held its advantage and eventually went up 20-17 after a Dayton attack error, but the Flyers would not lie down and charged back with a huge 7-1 run. Again the `Cats would rally back, however, pulling to within 24-23 on a Post kill. Dayton managed to get the deciding point, however, to take the 2-0 advantage into the lockerroom.
Post totaled five kills in the frame, while Jacobi recorded three for Ohio, who hit .156 against a Flyer line front line that picked up six total team blocks in the set.
The Flyers came out the aggressor out of the intermission and jumped out to an 11-3 advantage. Ohio still would not go down without a fight, ripping off a 6-3 run of its own to pull to within 14-9 after a Jacobi kill. Dayton responded with a mini spurt of its own to go ahead 17-9. The `Cats responded by scoring the next three points to get back to within five, but that would be as close as they would get the rest of the way, eventually falling 25-15.
Ohio picked up five total blocks in the set, but it was unable to get the kills it needed against a strong Flyer defense which was able to limit the Green and White to just a .059 hitting percentage in the frame.
Yvonne Marten totaled a match-high 14 kills on a .522 attack percentage to help pace Dayton for the match. Amanda Cowdrey added 11 kills of her own to go with 15 digs, while Paige Vargas totaled a match-best 20 digs for the Flyers.
The `Cats will now await their NCAA Tournament destination and opponent at a celebration show Sunday at 3 p.m. at Buffalo Wild Wings in Athens. Festivities will officially get under way at 2:30 p.m.
