Sept. 18, 2015
Score: Ohio 3, Florida Atlantic 1 (25-20, 25-22, 23-25,25-20)
Location: Fort Meyers, Fla. (Alico Arena)
Record: Ohio 8-3, Florida Atlatnic 8-4
Short Story: The Ohio volleyball program (8-3) took down Florida Atlantic (8-4) in a 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20) contest on Friday (Sept. 18) in the first round of the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational.
THE BASICS
- Ohio was led by junior outside hitter/libero Mallory Salis (Oak Lawn, Ill.) and sophomore outside hitter Jaime Kosiorek (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) with 11 kills. Both Salis and Kosiorek had 10 digs each. Kosiorek picked up her seventh double-double while Salis grabbed her first.
- Senior middle blocker Shelby Walker (Bradenton, Fla.) totaled nine kills and eight total blocks (two solo) in her return to Florida. Walker hit .238 for the match.
- Senior middle blocker Karin Bull (Bloomington, Minn.) finished with a team-high .421 clip, racking in nine kills along with a season-high 10 total blocks (one solo block).
- Senior setter Abby Gilleland (Bull Valley, Ill.) grabbed her fifth double-double of the year by piling up a match-high 37 assists as well as 17 digs. She also contributed with four kills and two block assists.
- Reigning back-to-back Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Week Meredith Ashy (Louisville, Ky.) compiled 19 digs along with a season-high seven assists.
- Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Ali Lake (Liberty Township, Ohio) tied for a match-high 10 total blocks, marking a career high.
- Ohio finished the match with a season-high 19.0 total team blocks.
- Florida Atlantic was led by senior middle blocker Brittany Brown with a match-high 14 kills, she hit .346 for the match and contributed three total blocks (one solo).
- Junior outside hitter Maja Ristic contributed for FAU with 13 kills and 13 digs.
- Junior setter Genesis Viera had 22 assists and freshman setter Ivone Martinez compiled 21.
- Senior outside hitter Raveen Golston totaled a match-high 24 digs for the match.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Ohio trailed 3-0 to Florida Atlantic to start, until a 7-0 run highlighted by errors on FAU and an ace from Kosiorek allowed the Bobcats to take a 7-3 lead. The Bobcats and FAU traded points until Salis grabbed a kill, and the Owls made an attack error to make it 12-7 Ohio. The Green and White pushed out to a 15-10 lead, but five-straight kills by the FAU offense tied the set, forcing Ohio to take time. Deadlocked at 18, Ohio's Kosiorek served an ace, and Florida Atlantic made two mistakes to put Ohio in front 21-18. The `Cats hopped on a 4-2 run to take the set 25-20 thanks to three-straight kills by Salis and Kosiorek.
- The second set saw nine ties before Ohio took a 19-16 lead because of two Owl errors and a kill from Salis. Ohio chose to take a timeout with that three point lead, in which the Bobcats forced another FAU error afterward to take a 20-16 lead. Florida Atlantic changed the tide and rode a 5-1 run to tie the set at 21 apiece thanks to three Ohio unforced errors. An attack error by FAU put Ohio on top 22-21, and FAU called for a timeout. Ohio's spectacular frontline defense saw double block by Bull and Lake, and two kills from Kosiorek and Salis to grab the second set 25-22.
- Ohio fell into a 6-0 deficit to start the third set. After Ohio took a timeout, the momentum shifted back to the `Cats. A 10-2 run by the Green and White allowed them to take their first lead of the set 10-8. Ohio held on to a 14-11 lead going into an FAU timeout, but the timeout changed the momentum toward Florida Atlantic. The Owls grabbed three-straight kills and rode a small 4-1 run to tie the set at 15. Ohio and FAU traded points until both an attack and service error by the Bobcats allowed Florida Atlantic to regain the lead 19-17. Ohio fell behind 21-17 after their timeout, but grabbed three kills and a block from Bull to help tie the set at 23. Another service and attack error by Ohio allowed FAU to take the third set 25-23.
- The `Cats shook off the third set and started the fourth set on an 11-6 run, forcing FAU to call their second timeout of the set. The Bobcats led by as much as eight points, 15-7, thanks to Kosiorek's third ace of the match, and a kill from Salis. With FAU creeping closer to Ohio 16-11, Kosiorek popped two-straight kills to up the Florida Atlantic deficit to seven. The Owls ended the fourth set on a 10-8 run, but Ohio's hot start to the set was too much. A powerful slam by Lake ended the set 25-20, and the match 3-1.
QUOTABLE
"This is more of an appreciation that I've been able to (coach) for a long time and understand that we need to get better, because we have to play tonight. Maybe it's different if it's the third match of the weekend, but for this it's looking at the numbers and seeing the things we did well and seeing the things we need to improve on. But this does mean that there are a lot of people that have poured into the programs that I've been allowed to lead. I would be remised to not to mention them and thank them because it's not just me, it's about all those kids and all those coaches that have been a part of it. I'm just honored and blessed to do this job and do it for a long time." -- second-year head coach Deane Webb
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Bobcats' four set victory over Florida Atlantic marked the first win over the Owls in program history.
- Ohio's second-year head coach Deane Webb grabbed his 400th career win as a head coach. Webb now bolsters a 400-226 record in his now 19-year career.
WHAT'S NEXT
- Ohio will take on host Florida Gulf Coast tonight (Sept. 18) at 7 p.m. ET inside Alico Arena. A free live stream will be live on OhioBobcats.com.
