MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ohio volleyball team (19-11, 13-5 MAC) fell 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 21-25) to Buffalo (19-12, 10-8 MAC) in the quarterfinal of the 2022-23 Mid-American Conference Championship on Sunday (Nov. 20) inside Worthen Arena.

Buffalo merely outhit Ohio .263 to .262, with the Bobcats tallying 54 kills, 53 assists and 64 digs.

Ohio jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead over the Bulls to start set one. The Bobcats extended their lead to seven, holding it until Buffalo went on a 4-0 run. After an Ohio timeout, another run by the Bulls gave Buffalo a 21-19 advantage. The Bobcats tied things up once more at 22-22, but ultimately fell 23-25.

The match remained tight in the beginning of the second set with four ties and three lead changes. A 5-1 run put Ohio up 10-6 with the Bobcats holding the four-point lead through the media timeout. Two more kills by Ohio forced Buffalo to call its first timeout of the set. Fresh out of the timeout, the Bulls went on a run of their own but it was not enough. The Bobcats took set two, 25-22.

Set three brought a total of 17 ties and four lead changes, with neither team able to expand its lead by more than two. Ohio fought till the end but dropped set three 23-25. The fourth set was another tight battle between the Bobcats and the Bulls. Unfortunately, Ohio could not close the small margin and lost set four 21-25.

Graduate student outside hitter Kristy Frank (Kyiv, Ukraine) led the match in kills with 18, hitting .371. Senior middle blocker Caitlin O'Farrell (Suwanee, Ga.) followed with 14 kills and a .360 hitting percentage while sophomore outside hitter Caroline Clippard (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied nine.

Setters Parker Kwiatkowski (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Tria McLean (Battle Creek, Neb.) combined together for a total of 46 assists and 15 digs. Additionally, junior libero Sam Steele (Omaha, Neb.) and senior outside hitter Olivia Margolies (Galena, Ohio) each collected 14 digs of their own.

The Ohio volleyball team finished the season 19-11 overall, finishing third in the conference after the regular season with a 13-5 mark. Stay tuned for more updates regarding Bobcat volleyball.

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