HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Ohio volleyball team (1-1) swept James Madison (1-1) 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 27-25) at the 2023 LD&B Insurance Invitational hosted by James Madison Saturday afternoon (Aug. 26). 

The Bobcats outhit James Madison .219 to .154 with 43 kills over 128 attempts. The Dukes totaled 37 kills over 123 attempts. 

The Bobcats captured momentum early in the first set with a 6-1 lead. JMU slowly cut into the lead, but Ohio was able to maintain their edge. After trading points, the Bobcats forced set point and won the first set 25-23.  

In set two, both Ohio and JMU came out hungry once more. In a mirror image of set one, the set went back and forth with eight early ties, putting the score at 12 all. The Bobcats rallied to go on an 8-1 run, setting the score at 20-13. Ohio closed out the set and won 25-17, taking a 2-0 lead heading into the third set.  

Ohio's momentum continued into the third with a 5-1 lead, forcing an early timeout from the Dukes. The Bobcats maintained their advantage but were unable to grow it, giving James Madison the opportunity to tie the set at 21. Despite giving away the lead, Ohio forced match point and won 27-25. 

Individually, the Bobcats were led offensively by graduate student Caitlin O'Farrell (Suwanee, Ga.) with her game-high 13 kills and team high .423 hit percentage. O'Farrell also contributed defensively with five blocks. Freshman Torre Kildow (Bethesda, Ohio) was second on the team in kills with 11, along with 14 digs and five blocks.  

The Bobcats were led defensively by senior Sam Steele's (Omaha, Neb.) game-high 19 digs. Graduate Student Parker Kwiatkowski (Grand Rapids, Mich.) led the game with 32 assists and recorded a .333 hit percentage.  

Ohio will close play at the LD&B Insurance Invitational tomorrow (Aug. 27) against High Point. First serve is set for 11:30 a.m. ET. 

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