DAYTON, Ohio – The Ohio University volleyball team (3-1, 0-0 MAC) opened the Dayton Flyer Classic with a 3-1 (33-31, 18-25, 25-22, 25-18) victory over Butler (3-2, 0-0 BIG EAST) on Friday. The Bobcats were led by sophomore Anna Kharchynska (Kyiv, Ukraine), who recorded a season-best 19 kills, 10 blocks and 24 points.
 
Other major contributors to Ohio's win include graduate student Parker Kwiatkowski (Grand Rapids, Mich.), who tallied 36 assists, and freshman Kam Hunt (Sylvania, Ohio), who earned a career-best 18 points.
 
After trailing in for the first half of the set, the Bobcats came back with a 33-31 win. Ohio was down 14-9 before making a five-point run, tying the set at 14-14. With 19 ties and nine lead changes throughout the set, the Bobcats found themselves in a close battle with the Bulldogs. A kill from Kharchynska's, assisted by Kwiatkowski, put the Bobcats up by one at set point. Butler's attack error off senior Sam Steele's (Omaha, Neb.) serve gave Ohio a 1-0 lead to start the match.
 
Butler tied the match at 1-1 as they defeated Ohio, 25-18, in the second set. The Bobcats originally held the lead, but the Bulldogs were victorious after a strong 9-1 scoring run.
 
It was a tight battle as the two teams fought to claim another victory in the third set. Ohio gained a 2-1 lead in the match after four-straight points that resulted in a 25-22 win over Butler. After an attack error from the Bulldogs, Hunt created the scoring run with an ace, recording her 11th point of the match. Two Bobcat kills from graduate student Caitlin O'Farrell (Suwanee, Ga.) and junior Caroline Clippard (Cincinnati, Ohio) secured the win for Ohio.
 
Ohio carried its momentum into the fourth set where it secured a 3-1 win over Butler. For majority of the set, the Bobcats maintained a lead over the Bulldogs. Ohio continued to dominate the set as the team broke away from Butler with 21-14 lead off a 3-0 scoring run. The Bobcats found themselves at match point after a kill from Clippard. The set was then decided by a service error from Butler.
 
At the end of the match, Ohio finished top of the leaderboard in three categories. Kharchynska ranked first in kills (19), blocks (10) and points (24). With the win over Butler, the Bobcats improve to 3-1 with a three-match win streak.
 
Ohio will continue competition at the Dayton Flyer Classic on Saturday, Sept. 2 with matchups against North Dakota State at 11 a.m. and tournament host, Dayton, at 7 p.m.

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