Scores: Ohio 3, Eastern Michigan 1 (25-20, 19-25, 25-19, 25-20)

Location: Athens, Ohio (Convocation Center)

Records: Ohio 19-4 (12-0 MAC), Eastern Michigan 15-11 (6-6 MAC)

 

THE BASICS

• The Ohio volleyball team (19-4, 12-0 MAC) rattled off its 13th-straight win and remained perfect in Mid-American Conference play with a hard-fought 3-1 (25-20, 19-25, 25-19, 25-20) triumph over West Division foe Eastern Michigan (15-11, 6-6 MAC) on Saturday (Nov. 1) at the Convocation Center.

• The Bobcats recorded their 18th win in their last 19 matches and kept the program's first unbeaten start to league play since going 16-0 in 2006 intact. Ohio's 19-4 start to the 2014 is the program's best since the `Cats opened 2006 with a mark of 20-3.

• Senior outside hitter Kelly Lamberti (Cary, Ill.) achieved her sixth double-double in the last eight matches, 12th of the season and 61st of her career with a match-high 14 kills to go along with a team-high 18 digs. She also posted three assisted blocks and three assists. The 2014 Preseason All-MAC pick has tallied double-digit kills in 21 of 23 matches in 2014 -- including eight straight. 

• Coming back from an injury that ended her 2013 season early last September, redshirt junior Chelsea Bilger (Fishers, Ind.) enjoyed her best match of the '14 campaign, piling up 12 kills to go along with three digs. The match marked the first time in 2014 Bilger has achieved double-digit kills. 

• Junior middle blocker Karin Bull (Bloomington, Minn.) -- the reigning MAC East Division Defensive Player of the Week -- totaled nine kills, attacked at a .450 clip with no errors and piled up a match-high 6.0 total blocks (one solo, five assisted). She also collected three digs and an assist. The 2014 Preseason All-MAC East Division selection has recorded 5.0 or more total blocks 10 times this season.

• Junior setter Abby Gilleland (Bull Valley, Ill.) enjoyed a double-double with a match-high 48 assists to go along with 14 digs. The 2014 Preseason All-MAC East Division pick also contributed a team-high two service aces in addition to eight kills and 3.0 total blocks (one solo, two assisted). She has tallied 40 or more assists on 10 occasions in 2014 and has posted nine double-doubles.

• Senior middle blocker/outside hitter Hannah Burkle (Crystal Lake, Ill.) chipped in eight kills while freshman outside hitter Jaime Kosiorek (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) added six more.

• Junior libero Meredith Ashy (Louisville, Ky.) and sophomore setter/defensive specialist Brooke Coleman (Plano, Texas) each contributed on the defensive end, adding 15 and 11 digs, respectively.

• Junior outside hitter Stacey Perinar led Eastern Michigan with a team-high 13 kills and achieved a double-double with 14 digs. She also passed out three assists. Redshirt junior middle blocker Kelsey Jones added 10 kills to go along with two digs. Senior setter/outside hitter Jill Briner also recorded a double-double with a team-high 35 assists to go along with a match-high 20 digs. She also tallied seven kills and matched Senior outside hitter Megan Crawshaw for the team lead with three assisted blocks. Crawshaw's night also included six kills and two digs. Junior libero/defensive specialist Corynne Smith tied Briner for the match lead with 20 digs and led the Eagles with two service aces.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Ohio took a 15-9 lead in the opening set thanks to three kills by Bull, two kills apiece from Burkle, Gilleland and Kosiorek and a solo block by Gilleland. Eastern Michigan put together a 5-0 run to shave the Bobcat lead down to one at 15-14, but Ohio retaliated with an 8-3 stretch that forced the Eagles to burn a timeout after two kills apiece by Lamberti, Gilleland and Bull. The Bobcats took the 1-0 match lead on a kill by Bilger, followed by a double block by Gilleland and Bull.

• The Eagles built an early 5-1 edge in the second stanza, but the 'Cats forced Eastern Michigan to call a timeout with a 7-3 run that made it a one-point set at 9-8 --thanks in large part to two kills by Lamberti, back-to-back double blocks by Bull and Lamberti and back-to-back service aces by Ashy. 

• Ohio came out of the break and built an nine-point cushion at 17-8 in the third set courtesy of two kills by Bilger, a pair of double blocks by Burkle and junior middle blocker/outside hitter Shelby Walker (Bradenton, Fla.) and a solo block by Bull. The Eagles did not go quiety, though, cutting Ohio's lead down to five at 20-15. Kills by Bilger and Lamberti and a pair of Eastern Michigan attack errors gave Ohio set point at 24-15, but the Eagles made it a five-point affair again with four straight points. An Eastern Michigan service error ended the rally, though, and put Ohio up, 2-1, in the match.

• The Bobcats broke through a back-and-forth start to the fourth set by turning a seven-all tie into a 17-10 lead thanks in large part to four kills by Burkle. The Eagles shaved Ohio's lead down to three at 18-15, but a 6-1 run by the `Cats that featured back-to-back kills by both Gilleland and Bilger made it match point at 24-16. Eastern Michigan fought back with four straight points, but Bilger's 12th kill secured Ohio's 13th-straight triumph.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• In a rematch of the 2013 MAC Championship match, the Bobcats recorded their fifth straight win over the Eagles.

QUOTABLE 

"The team's super supportive. (First-year head coach) Deane's (Webb) is kind tweaking with the lineup, trying to find the best team. We've very fortunate to have a lot of chemistry on the team. All of us are happy for each other when we go in, and there's great energy out there." - Redshirt junior outside hitter Chelsea Bilger

WHAT'S NEXT

Ohio hits the road in conference play for the final time in 2014, making visits to East Division rivals Akron next Friday (Nov. 7) and Buffalo next Saturday (Nov. 8). Both matches get started at 7 p.m. ET.

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