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Scores: No. 5 Western Michigan 3 No. 1 Ohio 2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 16-14)
Location: The Convocation Center - Athens, Ohio
Records: Western Michigan (21-13) No. 24 Ohio (23-5)

The Basics:
- The 24th-ranked Ohio volleyball team was pushed to the limit and fell to the Western Michigan Broncos at the Convocation Center on Sunday (Nov. 23) in five sets in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
- The Bobcats took the opening two sets but Western Michigan answered by winning two sets of its own to send the match into a fifth set, which the Broncos took by a 16-14 margin.
- With the defeat, Ohio split its two matches against Western Michigan this season after defeating the Broncos in four sets at The Convo on Nov. 24.
- Senior outside hitter and first-team All-MAC performer Kelly Lamberti was a force for the Bobcats, tallying a team-high 21 kills with a .206 hitting percentage on 68 attempts. She also recorded 21 digs and four total blocks (one solo, three assisted).
- Two-time reigning MAC Player of the Year Abby Gilleland was another integral cog to the Ohio attack, as the junior setter recorded a match-high 61 assists, adding 11 kills and 13 digs.
- Junior libero Meredith Ashy, who was named the 2014 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, led the Bobcats with 35 digs.
- MAC All-Freshman team member outside hitter Jaime Kosiorek notched 19 kills and eight digs to go along with two service aces.
- Western Michigan's Sydney LeMay led the Broncos with 17 kills while Caroline Rose had a team-high 39 digs.

How It Happened:
- After falling behind 6-1 in a back and forth opening set, Ohio stormed back with nine consecutive points, including two kills each from Lamberti and Kosiorek, to take a 10-6 advantage. Western Michigan answered by tying the game at 15 and eventually taking a 21-20 lead. The Bobcats proceed to take five of the next seven points to take the set.
-The Bobcats put took a 7-2 lead on the back of three kills by Lamberti. Ohio extended the advantage to 20-11 with a pair of kills from Kosiorek, Hannah Burkle and Shelby Walker. Western Michigan trimmed the lead to 24-19, but the Bobcats took the set with a kill by Gilleland.
-The third set was another close-knit affair as neither team could get any separation. Both squads headed into the tail end of the set tied at 22, with Burkle providing the Bobcats with three kills in that stretch. Western Michigan would go on to take the match on a kill by freshman middle blocker Olivia Kofie.
- Western Michigan took the first four points of the set and Ohio trailed by as much as six points facing a 12-6 deficit. The Bobcats rallied to tie the set at 17, but the Broncos eventually prevailed on an attack error by Lamberti. Ohio was paced by Kosiorek in the set as she recorded six kills.
- Ohio took an eight to six lead in the match's final set, but Western Michigan battled back and took the game due largely to eight assists from Lexie Pawlik.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Sunday's match marked the second time Ohio had been pushed to five sets by a Mid-American Conference opponent.
- Ohio finished the season with a 16-1 record against MAC teams.

QUOTABLE
Junior setter Abby Gilleland:
"We do still have our match against Dayton and in no way do we believe our season is over at this point. It does stink not to be able to give them (the seniors) the MAC win and come away from this tournament with saying it was successful. But there's still more that we can give them."

COMING UP
Ohio returns to action Friday, taking on Atlantic-10 Conference Champions Dayton on the road. The match tips off at the Frericks Center at 7 p.m.

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