ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team (5-8, 0-1 MAC) fell to Akron (6-6, 1-0 MAC) in a 3-1 decision (23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 19-25) in its conference opener on Friday.
 
It was a tight first set, but Akron earned an early 1-0 advantage after claiming a 25-23 win. The Bobcats showed off some great defense throughout the set as they forced several attack errors from the Zips.
 
Akron increased its lead to 2-0 after a 25-21 win in the second.
 
Behind the combined offensive effort of graduate student Caitlin O'Farrell (Suwanee, Ga.) and junior Caroline Clippard (Cincinnati, Ohio), the Bobcats cut Akron's lead to 2-1 with a 25-20 victory in the third set. At set point, Ohio was up by four and O'Farrell secured the set with the winning kill.
 
Despite some impressive defensive plays, Akron took the fourth and final set from Ohio in a 25-19 decision.
 
Offensively, O'Farrell led the team with 16 kills, two aces and 19 points. Clippard contributed 10 kills, 10 points and an assist. Other top performers for the Bobcats were sophomore Anna Kharchynska (Kyiv, Ukraine; 7 kills, 2 blocks, 8 points) and senior Elizabeth Hoerlein (Mason, Ohio; 5 kills, 5 blocks, 7.5 points).
 
The Bobcats return tomorrow as they close out their home series against Akron at 4 p.m.
 
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