ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team (4-7, 0-0 MAC) fell in both games the second day of the Green & White Invitational with a 3-1 loss against Oakland (3-8, 0-0 Horizon) (23-25, 23-25, 14-25, 23-25) and a 3-0 loss (18-25, 26-28, 23-25) against Eastern Kentucky (9-4, 0-0 Atlantic Sun) on Saturday, Sept. 21.
MATCH 1 vs. OAKLAND (1-3; 23-25, 23-25, 25-14, 23-25)
The Bobcats were led by sophomore Kam Hunt (Sylvania, Ohio) who totaled a game-high 19 kills. Junior Anna Kharchynska (Kyiv, Ukraine) had another impressive outing, recording 17 kills with a .533 hit percentage.
Sophomore Kendall Hickey (Fishers, Ind) recorded a game-high 23 digs. Freshman Darbi Ricketts (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished with 18 digs along with seven kills.
Set one began with Oakland up early before Ohio sparked a 4-0 run to tie the set at 11-11. The Golden Grizzlies then sparked a run of their own, pulling away to win set one 25-23.
In a mirror image of set one, the second began with the Bobcats down early, then putting together a short run for an 11-11 tie. The two teams continued to trade points, but Ohio fell behind to drop the second set 25-23.
The Bobcats took the lead early in the third set. After an early 8-2 lead, Ohio went on a 7-2 run for a double-digit advantage at 16-6. The Bobcats continued to expand their lead with sophomore Olivia Gardner (Macomb, Mich.) getting the kills to win set three, 25-14.
Looking to force a fifth set, the Bobcats began the fourth trailing but went on a 5-1 run to tie the set at nine a side. Oakland retook the lead, and Ohio was unable to come back, dropping set four25-23.
MATCH 2 vs. EASTERN KENTUCKY (0-3; 18-25, 26-28, 23-25)
Individually, Kharchynska led the game with 12 kills and recorded four blocks and four digs. Hunt and Gardner combined for 17 kills. Ricketts led the game in digs with 16, with Hickey following close behind with ten.
The Bobcats found themselves down early in the first set. Ohio sparked a 6-1 run late in the set, but it was not enough as Eastern Kentucky pulled away to win set one 25-18.
Set two was neck-and-neck throughout, with 15 ties and five lead changes. Kharchynska tied the set at 25-25, but the Colonels scored consecutive points to win 28-26.
The third set began with Eastern Kentucky with an early lead until the Bobcats tallied a 7-1 run to take a 11-9 lead. Ohio slowly saw the lead slip, ultimately losing 25-23.
Up next, the Bobcats will hit the road for their first conference series of the season, taking on Akron. The first game is Friday, Sept. 27, at 6 p.m. followed by the second game on Saturday at 4 p.m.
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