KENT, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team (12-8, 6-3 MAC) took down Kent State (12-8, 3-6 MAC) in a five-set battle (25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-6) on Tuesday (Oct. 18) inside the Memorial Athletic Center.

Ohio outhit the Golden Flashes .208 to .196 while registering 63 kills to Kent's 54. The Bobcats also tallied five aces, 59 assists and 60 digs.

The Bobcats got out to a hot start in set one, going on multiple runs to take the set 25-20. Set two was more evenly matched with eight ties and four lead changes, until the Golden Flashes put up four straight to give themselves the 23-19 lead. Despite giving up the second set 20-25, Ohio fought hard to secure themselves the third. The set could have gone either way with the score tied up at 23-23, but an attacking error on Kent and a kill by senior outside hitter Olivia Margolies (Galena, Ohio) put the Bobcats on top. Desperate to even out the match, the Golden Flashes stole the fourth set 25-21, forcing set five. Fortunately, the Bobcats dominated in the fifth, going on two 4-0 runs to take the final set 15-6.

Leading the Bobcats' offense was Margolies and sophomore outside hitter Caroline Clippard (Cincinnati, Ohio) with 16 kills apiece. Senior middle blocker Caitlin O'Farrell (Suwanee, Ga.) followed with 13, while freshman opposite hitter Anna Kharchynska (Kyiv, Ukraine) posted 12.

Senior setter Parker Kwiatkowski (Grand Rapid, Mich.) collected another double-double, recording 47 assists and 17 digs. Junior libero Sam Steele (Omaha, Neb.) followed Kwiatkowski in digs, tallying 14.

Up next, Ohio will remain on the road to take on Akron on Friday (Oct. 21) at 6 p.m. ET.

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