Sept. 10, 2010
Final Stats
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio volleyball team (6-2) took their first match at the Baymont Inn & Suites Invitational this afternoon, 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-17) over Pittsburgh (1-7).
With the first set tied 5-5, Ohio went on an 8-0 run that featured four kills by Mandy Nichols and a service ace by Nicole Staverman. The Bobcats continued to dominate play and took nine of the next 13 points to gain their largest lead, 22-9. Sue Jacobi’s fifth kill won the set, 25-12. Katie Post had three blocks while Michelle Jantsch added two aces, two blocks and 11 assists.
Ohio hit a blistering .407 with 13 kills on 27 attacks during the first set. The four service aces played a big part as well, sustaining long runs of play for the ‘Cats en route to the 1-0 lead in the match. Ohio also held the edge in errors, forcing 13 and committing only three.
Leading 10-8 in the second set, Ohio took six of the next eight points thanks to kills from Nichols, Faith Robins and Lexie Hartnett. The 16-10 lead for the ‘Cats was as large as it would get as the teams played evenly the rest of the way. Ohio hit .370 and won the set 25-21 to take a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Hartnett and Robins finished with three kills apiece while Jantsch had 10 assists and five digs and Post added four more blocks to her total. Overall, Ohio held an 8-1 advantage in blocks through the first two sets and dominated at the net against the Panthers.
Ohio slowly started to creep away during the third set as Jacobi picked up four kills and the lead got to 14-8. However, a Panther timeout led to the visitors capturing four of the next five points to cut the ‘Cats lead to 15-12. The Green & White responded with by notching eight of the next 11 points for their largest edge, 23-15. Post had three kills and an ace during the run. With the score 24-17, Pitt committed a service error, thus handing the match to the Bobcats, 3-0.
The Bobcats once again dominated play due to their edge in blocks (4-0) and service aces (4-1) combined with their ability to cut down on unforced errors (five as opposed to Pitt’s 13).
Jacobi led the Bobcats with 12 kills and tied for the team lead with nine digs. Post finished with the second most points on seven kills, seven blocks and an ace. Jantsch chipped in with three kills, four blocks, nine digs, 32 assists and three of Ohio’s season-high tying eight service aces.
Nichols, Robins and Hartnett combined to rack up 16 kills and seven blocks while Staverman and Meryl Bender combined for two aces, eight digs and three assists at the defensive specialist position. Overall, five Bobcats hit .357 or higher for the match (Jacobi, Jantsch, Nichols, Post and Hartnett).
Ohio hit .403 for the match and held Pitt to a .153 hitting percentage. It was the second-best hitting percentage for the ‘Cats after their home opener with VCU (.432). The block total tied the largest differential of the season (+11) which was set in the last contest against Missouri State. The one block by Pittsburgh was a season-low for an Ohio opponent.
