Aug. 26, 2011
Final Stats
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Ohio dropped its season opener to No. 24 Tennessee in a exciting five-set match 23-25, 25-13, 18-25, 25-17, 15-7 at the Comcast Lady Vol Classic. The Bobcats recorded 13.0 team blocks and received over half their kills from freshmen Kelly Lamberti and Chelsea Bilger.
"I give credit to our team for learning a ton this preseason," Head Coach Ryan Theis said. "They have worked hard for two weeks. This is a young team that came a long way in a short time to be in this match."
Lamberti picked up a double-double in her first collegiate game, finishing with Bobcat highs of 12 kills and 19 digs, while classmate Bilger notched 11 kills. Katie Post, Lexie Hartnett and Faith Robins combined for 19 kills but only hit .156 for the evening. Hartnett led Ohio with nine blocks, Bailey Karst led the team with 32 assists and Nicole Staverman also added 18 digs. The Bobcats were also held without an ace, while UT notched seven.
"Our young kids had moments of good play tonight," Theis added. "They'll learn from big matches throughout the year and hopefully improve as the season goes on."
Trailing 10-9 in the first set, Ohio rattled off five-straight points thanks to Post, Lamberti and Karst. Another kill from Post made it 16-11 in favor of the Green & White and they remained in control as the set reached 21-17. However, UT battled back to even things at 21-21.
A kill by Lamberti pushed Ohio back in front, 23-22 before UT tied it one final time. Bilger notched a kill and Karst and Hartnett teamed up for a block to win the set, 25-23. Lamberti and Bilger had seven of the team's 12 kills in the set as the 'Cats hit .385. Ohio also registered four blocks as Hartnett racked up three of her own.
Tennessee led Ohio 4-3 in the second set and then rattled off eight of the next nine points to gain a 12-4 advantage. Ohio pulled three points back to make it 12-7 and eventually cut the deficit to four at 16-12. However, Tennessee scored seven straight and nine of the final 10 points in the set to take it 25-13.
The Bobcats were behind again in the third set, 13-10, but a kill by Liis Kullerkann and another from Bilger started a set-changing run. Ohio scored seven of the next nine points, primarily due to its blocking, as Hartnett recorded four blocks, one solo, and Robins notched two block assists.
In all, the Green & White racked up seven team blocks to turn the third set around and win, 25-18. Hartnett finished with five blocks and Robins added four while holding the UT hitting attack to a .043 percentage.
The two teams were tied in the fourth set, 11-11, but Tennessee took eight of the next 10 points to run away the set, 25-17. The fifth set saw the hosts score six successive points to take a 9-3 lead and eventually win the match with a 15-7 triumph.
"We battled and responded in the third game," Theis said. "We didn't get pressure on them in the fourth. Kelsey Robinson took over and we take our hats off to them. She's an All-America talent."
Robinson finished with a match-best 27 kills (.303 hitting percentage) in her first collegiate match and also added 13 digs and five service aces. She was one of three Volunteer freshmen to record a double-double, along with Carly Sahagian (12 kills, match-high 21 digs) and Tiffany Baker (10 kills, 14 digs).
"The biggest thing now is going to be how we respond to a short turnaround," Theis said. "Coming in to this weekend we had some goals for ourselves. Now, the pressure is on us to achieve those things."
Ohio plays Maryland at 11:30 a.m. and Villanova at 5 p.m. tomorrow.
