KENT, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team (18-12, 13-5 MAC) was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Co-Champions following its 3-1 victory (25-21, 20-25, 25-20, 25-10) at Kent State (6-23, 2-16 MAC) on Wednesday, Nov. 15. The Bobcats will share the East Division Championship title with Buffalo as both teams hold a 13-5 conference record following the conclusion of the regular season.
It has been eight years since Ohio has earned the East Division Championship title with the last time occurring during the 2015 season. This marks the Ohio volleyball program's 14
th East Division Championship.
Graduate student
Caitlin O'Farrell (Suwanee, Ga.) led the Bobcats with 18 kills, 20 points and three blocks. Freshman
Kam Hunt tallied 13 kills, 16.5 points, three aces, five digs and a .933 reception percentage on 28 total attacks. Sophomore
Anna Kharchynska (Kyiv, Ukraine) added 12 kills, 14.5 points, six digs and three blocks.
Senior
Tria McLean (Battle Creek, Neb.) recorded an impressive 42 assists, two aces, 10 digs and a career-best six kills. Senior
Sam Steele (Omaha, Neb.) led Ohio's defense with 23 digs, a .905 reception percentage on 19 total attacks and tallied six assists.
Ohio and Kent State were tied up at 1-1 after splitting the first two sets; the Bobcats won the first in a 25-21 decision and the Golden Flashes earned a 25-20 win in the second. Ohio gained the important 2-1 advantage with a 25-20 victory in the third set.
With the chance of winning the match on the line, the Bobcats came out strong in the fourth set. Ohio started the set with a 9-0 scoring run which included three kills from Hunt and two aces from McLean. The Bobcats did not allow Kent State to score more than two points in a row. The scoring went back-and-forth, but Ohio's significant lead from the beginning of the set helped them gain a substantial advantage and led to the team's dominating 25-10 victory over Kent State.
The Bobcats will be back in action as they travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. for the 2023 MAC Championships. The conference tournament will be hosted by No. 1 seed, Western Michigan, and competition is set to begin on Saturday, Nov. 18. The official seeding and brackets will be released prior to the start of the tournament.
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