Sept. 2, 2011
Final Stats
Lexington, Ky. - Ohio Volleyball rallied from being down two sets to one and a 14-13 deficit in the pivotal fifth set to knock off Virginia Tech in the first match of the Kentucky Classic, 16-25, 25-23, 15-25, 25-23, 16-14.
"Once again, I can't say enough about the resiliency of this team," Head Coach Ryan Theis said. “Our inexperience showed up in the games we lost but when we play well, we are a very good team. The goal now is to find that level of consistency."
Chelsea Bilger and Kelly Lamberti tied for the team lead with 12 kills apiece while the Bobcats accumulated 21.0 team blocks. Katie Post led Ohio with a career-high tying 13 blocks while Mollie Geske (17) and Kelly Colyar (16) topped the double-digit mark for digs.
"It was a great effort," Theis added. "Beating an experienced team that made the NCAA Tournament and returned almost everyone from last season, it's just a very nice way to start this tournament."
Ohio started its comeback from a set down when it leapt out to a 7-2 lead in the fourth set. The Bobcats led 10-5 before VT rattled off eight of the next nine points to take a 13-11 advantage. The deficit remained at two points before a Lamberti kill and consecutive blocks by the duo of Post and Robins made it 18-17, Ohio.
Post combined with Bailey Karst on a block that gave the Green & White a two-point cushion at 20-18, but VT would draw even at 22. Consecutive attack errors by the Hokies provided Ohio with another two-point lead before Bilger closed things with a kill to keep the match alive with a 25-23 win.
Ohio dropped the first two points of the fifth set before Ohio got kills from Bilger and Post, along with two blocks, to gain a 4-2 lead. VT took the lead back with three-straight points but Ohio went ahead 7-6 on an ace by Leah Petrovich.
The Bobcats maintained a one-point lead at 10-9 and 11-10 on blocks by Post, Faith Robins and Lamberti. After falling behind 14-13, Bilger recorded back-to-back kills to push Ohio in front 15-14. Lexie Hartnett, the reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Week, smashed home the winner for the Green & White.
Virginia Tech jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first set and never looked back, leading by as many as nine points en route to a 25-16 win. Victoria Hamsher had four kills and hit a match-best .286 in the first set. The Hokies also took the third set, using an 11-3 run midway through the stanza to take 19-9 lead. VT won the set 25-15 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Justine Record had four kills while Cara Baarendise had four blocks for the Hokies.
After losing that first set, Ohio trailed in the second set 4-2, but three VT errors and a Bobcat block put them ahead 6-4. With the score 10-8, kills by Bilger and Lamberti was followed by a VT error that made it a five-point 'Cat lead. VT rattled off four-straight points before an error quelled the rally. Another four-point run gave VT an 18-17 edge and the Hokies still led 23-21 before Ohio mounted its first rally of the day.
A Bilger kill and a VT attack error drew the set even before a Lamberti block made it 24-23 for the Green & White. Robins and Hartnett then combined to snuff out a Justine Record attack to win the set and draw even in the match. Ohio hit a match-best .296 in the second set, getting three kills each from Hartnett and Bilger.
The Bobcats will play host Kentucky on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. and Western Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at 5:30 p.m.
