Nov. 14, 2013
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio University volleyball team (23-4, 13-2) clinched the No. 1 seed in next weekend's MAC Championship with an efficient 3-0 win over visiting Kent State (12-16, 6-9) Thursday evening inside the Convocation Center.
With the victory, Ohio also earned at least a share of the MAC regular season title and will now host the 2014 MAC Championship in Athens as a result of a new league rule. The Bobcats will earn the MAC regular season crown outright with a win Saturday or a loss by Toledo Friday or Saturday.
Sophomore setter Abby Gilleland (Bull Valley, Ill.) played a fine all-around game for Ohio with a match-high 34 assists to go along with six kills, six digs and a blistering .667 hitting percentage.
Gilleland set up a balanced offense of Bobcat attackers, as six Ohio hitters notched at least six kills on the night. Outside hitters Katie Horton (Westland, Mich.), Kelly Lamberti (Cary, Ill.) and Liis Kullerkann (Keila, Estonia) paced the `Cats with eight kills apiece, while graduate middle blocker Alexis Pinson (Phoenix, Ariz.) added seven kills and three total blocks. Kullerkann also hit an impressive .700 on the night and notched two blocks (one solo).
Sophomore libero Meredith Ashy (Louisville, Ky.) tallied a match-high 14 digs for Ohio (4.7/set), while freshman defensive specialist added seven digs and a career-best three service aces. Coleman also notched her first career kill in the contest from the back row.
The Bobcats raced out of the gate against the Golden Flashes and scored seven of the first 10 points of the opening set. From there, Ohio extended its edge to nine (14-5) on the strength of a 4-0 run. The `Cats used another 4-0 run to extend the lead to 11 (18-7) and Ohio went up by 12 (20-8) on a kill from Horton. The Bobcats won the first set by that margin (25-13).
In set two, Ohio again held a 7-3 lead, but Kent scored six of the next eight points to close within two (9-7). The Bobcats built their lead back up to six (16-10) on another kill from Horton and led by seven (19-12) after a kill from Pinson. Ohio took the second set by 10, 25-15.
Set three was closer from the start, as Ohio led by one (9-8) early in the frame. The Bobcats used a 4-1 run to move ahead by four (13-9) and extended the lead to seven (20-13) after putting together a 5-0 run. The Bobcats ultimately won the third set by eight (25-17) to claim the top seed in next weekend's tournament.
With the victory, Ohio improved to 12-0 in three set matches this season. The crowd of 1,941 at the Convo was on hand to see the first televised regular season match in program history.
Ohio wraps up Mid-American Conference play Saturday with a 7 p.m. matchup against Central Michigan inside the Convocation Center.
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