CINCINNATI -- Senior outside hitter Kelly Lamberti (Cary, Ill.) achieved a double-double with a match-high 15 kills to go along with 11 digs, garnering Most Valuable Player honors as the Ohio University volleyball team (6-3) rolled to its fifth straight victory with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-15, 16-25, 25-13) win over Syracuse University (5-4) on Saturday (Sept. 13) in the 2014 Millennium Hotel Invitational at the Cintas Center.

 

The Bobcats won the 2014 Millennium Hotel Invitational with a perfect 3-0 mark on the weekend, posting a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-19) victory over tournament host Xavier University on Friday (Sept. 12) followed by a 3-1 (28-26, 25-22, 24-26, 25-21) triumph over in-state rival Ohio State University on Saturday morning. The weekend tournament title marks the first for Ohio under first-year head coach Deane Webb.

"Every time we go out and do something really well, it just gets our team a little more confident that we're moving toward their potential," said Webb. "They keep getting an idea of how good of a team we can be."

 

Lamberti reached double figures in kills for the seventh straight match. She also contributed three service aces and three assisted blocks. Lamberti finished the weekend with 43 kills (3.91 per set), 29 digs (2.64 per set), eight total blocks (two solo, six assisted) and six service aces.

 

Senior middle blocker/outside hitter Hannah Burkle (Crystal Lake, Ill.) recorded double-digit kills for the first time as a Bobcat, tallying a season-high 10 to go along with four digs and an assisted block.

 

Freshman outside hitter Jaime Kosiorek (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and junior middle blocker Karin Bull (Bloomington, Minn.) just missed out on joining Lamberti and Burkle in double digits, tallying nine kills and eight kills, respectively. Kosiorek also posted three service aces and three digs while Bull added three assisted blocks and two digs. Kosiorek finished the weekend with a team-high eight service aces and ranked second on the squad with 30 kills (2.73 per set). Bull led the 'Cats with nine total blocks (nine assisted) and ranked third on the team in kills with 24 (2.18 per set) on the weekend.

 

Junior setter Abby Gilleland (Bull Valley, Ill.) matched her season high with 45 assists to lead the match. She has tallied at least 40 assists in three of the last four matches and finished the weekend with a team-high 123 assists (11.18 per set).

 

Ohio once again put together a solid team effort on the defensive end. Junior libero Meredith Ashy (Louisville, Ky.) collected a team-high 13 digs while sophomore outside hitter/libero Mallory Salis (Oak Lawn, Ill.) totaled 11.

Gilleland and Ashy joined Lamberti on the All-2014 Millennium Hotel Invitational Team.

With the first set knotted at 12-all, the Bobcats took command and never looked back, building a five-point advantage at 18-13 thanks to a double block by Bull and Lamberti, a kill by Salis, a kill by Bull and a double block by Gilleland and Bull. A 6-2 run by the Orange shaved Ohio’s lead to 20-19, but the 'Cats countered with a 4-1 run on the wings of kills by junior middle blocker/outside hitter Shelby Walker (Bradenton, Fla.), Burkle and Lamberti. Syracuse cut Ohio’s lead to 24-22, but Lamberti closed out the set victory with a kill.

 

Ohio took control early in the second set, opening up a 14-8 lead with two kills and a service ace by Kosiorek, two kills apiece from Lamberti, Bull and Burkle. Syracuse cut Ohio’s lead down to two four times, but the Bobcats wrapped up the set win with an 8-0 run that included a service ace by Lamberti, two kills by Lamberti and Bull and kills by Gilleland and Kosiorek.

 

With the threat of being swept, the Orange erased a 6-3 Ohio lead in the third set to post a 25-16 victory.

 

The Bobcats responded with a 12-point win in the fourth set, with Lamberti and Burkle each recording four kills and redshirt freshman middle blocker Ali Lake (Liberty Township, Ohio) adding three more.

 

Ohio competes in its final non-conference tournament of the 2014 regular season, visiting Evanston, Ill., for the Wildcat Challenge. The Bobcats take on host Northwestern University on Thursday (Sept. 18) at 8 p.m. ET, then battle the University of Green Bay on Friday (Sept. 19) at 5:30 p.m. ET. 

 

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