ATHENS, Ohio — Ohio worked out its kinks against Northern Illinois on Thursday, and it led to a 3-1 win in The Convo. 

Head coach Geoff Carlston opted for a younger lineup at the start of the game. The Bobcats rotated freshman opposite hitter Torre Kildow and freshman setter Chariti Winzeler in after the first few serves. However, the move didn't stop the Huskies from overpowering the Bobcats. 

The Bobcats worked in a frenzy to catch the Huskies after falling behind. They ran out of bounds to keep rallies alive, and even out-hit the Huskies until the last two points. Although the damage had already been done. The Bobcats fell 25-19. 

Ohio came out with a new look in set two. Senior defensive specialist Maci Watrous traded spots with senior defensive specialist Sam Steele as libero and Ohio opted to use more defensive specialists. Ohio also slid sophomore outside hitter Anna Kharchynska into the back row for a few rallies. 

The shake-up helped the Bobcats jump out to an eight-point lead in the middle of the second set, which they retained despite the Huskies' comeback attempt. However, the Huskies muffled their own hopes when they hit the net on set point to give the Bobcats a set win 25-17.

"We really put a more defensive-minded team out on the floor. We run a 5-1, like a 6-2 makes us physical, but sometimes we try to put a round peg in a square hole right now," Carlston said. "I want to do it (put Kharchynska in the back) but there hasn't been a flow to it. You have to have someone play all the way around, and right now that's Anna. She did a good job. She's one of our older players. Even though she is a sophomore, she has a lot of experience. We'll need her to do that again tomorrow."

Kharchynska's 18 kills led both teams on Thursday. Graduate student middle blocker Caitlin O'Farrell followed her with 15 kills of her own. O'Farrell is currently sixth in the MAC for kills with 3.40 per set. Both are key elements of Ohio's dynamic offense. 

As the offense gained traction, so did the defense. All three of Ohio's defensive specialists — Steele, Watrous and freshman Kendall Hickey — collected double digit digs. Watrous led the way with 16, while Steele had 13 and Hickey had 11. 

"I think that defense tonight was awesome all across the board. I think that our defensive group is super special and we have a lot of grit, and it was super awesome," Watrous said. "This past week, we worked on defense as our focus and it was really awesome to see it come to life on the court tonight." 

Northern Illinois tested Ohio in the fourth set. It cut Ohio's lead short and went tit for tat. Ohio broke away from its opponent after back-to-back service aces by Northern Illinois, and it never let go of the lead after that point. Ohio won the set 25-20. 

Ohio finished the night with 60 kills, 65 digs and four service aces. It hit .275 compared to Northern Illinois' .140. 

The win moved the Bobcats to 9-9 overall and 4-2 in the Mid-American Conference. Ohio now sits third in the MAC East and sixth overall. However, the toughest part of Ohio's MAC schedule is coming up. It plays the No. 1 team in the MAC, Western Michigan, on Friday.  

"We need to get some rest and come in and come ready to go (tomorrow)," Carlston said.  "Western is playing really at a high level right now. They're really experienced in some really key positions like the libero and the setter."

Friday's match is set to start at 7 p.m. in The Convo. 

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