Sept. 17, 2011
Final Stats
Ohio improved to 2-1 on the weekend at the Bash in the Boro with a four-set win over Georgia State this afternoon, 28-26, 25-21, 16-25, 27-25. Chelsea Bilger finished with a career-high 20 kills to pace the Bobcat attack.
The freshman from Fishers, Indiana was outstanding for Ohio, hitting .302 while attaining her fourth double-double on the year with 13 digs. Katie Post added 11 kills and led the team with five blocks while hitting .273 and Lexie Hartnett posted 10 kills, the sophomore's best mark ever in a four-set match.
Hartnett dominated the first set with seven kills for the Bobcats and Bilger followed her lead with six kills of her own. Ohio’s redshirt sophomore spiked down an attempt to give her team the largest lead in the first set, 23-16, but Georgia State would rally to tie things, 24-24. Now down by a point, Hartnett evened things at 25 and pushed the Green & White back ahead with her final kill of the set. After an Ohio error, GSU committed two errors of its own to give the 28-26 win to the ‘Cats.
Ohio used a 9-0 run in the second set to turn a 13-9 deficit into a six-point lead. Despite Georgia State cutting the Bobcat advantage to two at 23-21, two errors by the Ohio opponents earned the Bobcats a second-set win and a 2-0 edge in the match.
The Green & White struggled in the third set, hitting a negative percentage and trailing by as many as nine, losing 25-16 and providing a little unwanted excitement to the match. Vinecee Verdun, who led the Panthers with 15 kills on the day, had four kills on five attempts as GSU forced a fourth set.
Ohio trailed early 10-7 but rattled off four-straight points to take an 11-10 lead in the fourth set. The largest lead the rest of the way was 19-17, Ohio, after a kill by Post and the set remained nip and tuck down the stretch. With the score tied, 25-25, Post struck again to push the Bobcats to match point and an attack error salted things away for Ohio. Along with Post, Bilger was tremendous, notching eight kills on 17 attempts in the set to keep the Bobcats close throughout.
Ohio will play its fourth match in two days when it goes up against Presbyterian later on Saturday. The 'Cats currently stand at 2-1 in the Bash at the Boro hosted by Georgia Southern University.
