ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team (14-16, 12-6 MAC) earned a 3-1 victory (17-25, 25-23, 25-20, 27-25) over Western Michigan (1-15, 13-5 MAC) on Friday, Nov.14. The game marked Ohio's final one of the regular season. The team also celebrated the three members of their senior class, Anna Kharchynska (Kyiv, Ukraine), Kendall White (Gahanna, Ohio) and Leah Rogers (Hudsonville, Mich.).
 
Ohio finished with a .226 attack percentage, 56 kills, five aces, nine blocks, 53 assists and 59 digs. Western Michigan finished with a .258 attack percentage, 58 kills, two aces, six blocks, 54 assists and 65 digs.
 
Freshman Mady Long (Vincent, Ohio) was a standout player on both sides of the court for Ohio. Offensively, Long recorded a .542 attack percentage with 13 kills and no errors on 24 total attacks. She also tallied two aces, 12 digs and 15.0 points. In an impressive feat, Long finished 30-for-31 (.968) in serve receive.
 
Freshman Bailey Blair (Louisville, Ky.) was an outstanding offensive force for the Bobcats. Blair recorded a .371 attack percentage with a team-high 16 kills and three errors on 35 total attacks. Blair also contributed 17.0 points, two blocks and seven digs.
 
Sophomore Bryn Janke (Westfield, Wis.) led the team in assists with a total of 31.
 
Junior Kendall Hickey (Fishers, Ind.) recorded a team-high 21 digs. Junior Emily Waddell (Carmel, Ind.) led the team in blocking with a match-high of seven blocks.
 
Western Michigan earned an early advantage after winning the first set. The Broncos went up 1-0 with a 25-17 win over the Bobcats.
 
Ohio bounced back in the second set, tying the game at 1-1. After trailing the Broncos for the first half of the set, the Bobcats battled to take a 19-17 lead off a four point scoring run. Even with Western Michigan coming within one point, Ohio was able to maintain its lead and take the set in a 25-23 decision.
 
The third set was a big one for the Bobcats. Ohio was successful on offense with 16 kills and four errors on 38 total attacks. The Bobcats also recorded 15 digs and 4.0 blocks. With a 25-20 win in the third set, Ohio was able to take a 2-1 lead over Western Michigan.
 
Both teams battled hard in the fourth set. While Ohio did maintain a lead over Western Michigan for most of the set, the Broncos came back to tie the set at 19-19. Western Michigan followed that with a four-point scoring run, taking a 22-19 lead. With the Broncos at set point (24-21), the Bobcats were able to achieve a four-point scoring run and retake the lead at 25-24. Back-to-back kills by Blair and junior Torre Kildow (Bethesda, Ohio) secured the 27-25 set win and 3-1 victory over Western Michigan.
 
The Bobcats will be back in action at the 2025 Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championships, starting on Friday, Nov. 21 in Bowling Green, Ohio.
 
#OUohyeah