Ohio Volleyball Defeats Morgan State & UNC Asheville on Day 1 of the Bobcat Invite

Friday, September 18

Athens, Ohio

10 a.m. ET

5-4,0-0MAC

Morgan State

1-9,0-0MEAC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Morgan St.	27	19	20	19	1
Ohio	25	25	25	25	3

Game Notes Digital Guide

Team	1	2	3	Final F
UNC Asheville	19	20	20	0
Ohio	25	25	25	3

Ohio Volleyball Defeats Morgan State & UNC Asheville on Day 1 of the Bobcat Invite

9/18/2026 11:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team (6-4, 0-0 MAC) swept its doubleheader against Morgan State (1-10, 0-0 MEAC) and UNC Asheville (11-3, 0-0 Big South), concluding day one of the Bobcat Invitational presented by AthensOhio.com on Friday, Sept.18.

Game 1: Ohio 3, Morgan State 1 (25-27, 25-19, 25-20, 25-19)
Ohio finished with 66 kills, nine aces, one block, 54 assists and 42 digs. Morgan State finished with 33 kills, nine aces, four blocks, 26 assists and 27 digs. The Bobcats recorded a .338 team hitting percentage while the Bears recorded a .214 team hitting percentage.

Freshman Rose Mahin (Franklin, Ind.), senior Torre Kildow (Bethesda, Ohio) and sophomore Bailey Blair (Louisville, Ky.) were top performers for the Bobcats against Morgan Mahin recorded a team-high 14 kills and 14.0 points. Kildow recorded a team-best .667 attack percentage with 12 kills and two errors on 15 total attacks. Blair tallied double-digit kills for the fifth time this season, recording 11 kills and 11.0 points.

Ohio's two setters, sophomore Lillie Meinhart (Lascassas, Tenn.) and freshman Rowan Kelly (Akron, Ohio), recorded 25 and 17 assists, respectively.

Junior Darbi Ricketts (Cincinnati, Ohio) was responsible for four of Ohio's nine aces. Meinhart and sophomore Cienna Lapsley (Columbia City, Ind.) added two aces each.

Defensively, Mahin and Blair led the team in digs with eight each. Senior Gentry Brown (Shadyside, Ohio) finished with seven digs, the second most on the team. Lapsley recorded Ohio's only block.

Morgan State caught Ohio on its heels in the first. The Bears took an early 1-0 lead with a 27-25 win in the first set.

The Bobcats responded back with a win of their own. Ohio tied the game at 1-1 with a 25-19 win in the second set. The Bobcats held a 7-4 lead over the Bear early on in the set. Ohio began to pull away from Morgan State around the halfway point, taking a 16-10 lead over the Bears. Morgan State attempted a comeback, closing in on Ohio's lead 21-18, but were unable to catch up with the Bobcats. A 5-1 scoring run at the end of the set secured the 25-19 win for Ohio.

Ohio's momentum continued in the second set as the Bobcats opened up the third with a 10-7 lead over Morgan State. By the halfway point, the Bears had cut the Bobcats' lead to 15-14. Morgan State stayed within two points of Ohio, only trailing the Bobcats 22-20. Ohio then went on a 3-0 scoring run to win the third set, 25-20, and take a 2-1 lead over Morgan State.

The Bobcats went on to win the fourth and final set, 25-19, and secured the 3-1 victory over the Bears.

Game 2: Ohio 3, UNC Asheville 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-20)
Ohio finished with 39 kills, six aces, three blocks, 38 assists and 44 digs. UNC Asheville finished with 27 kills, five aces, two blocks, 26 assists and 26 digs. The Bobcats recorded a .267 team hitting percentage while the Bulldogs recorded a .146 team hitting percentage.

Kildow was once again a top performer for Ohio, tallying a team-high 10 kills and 10.5 points. Mahin was a key contributor with nine kills, 9.0 points and a team-high 11 digs. Blair and senior Emily Waddell (Carmel, Ind.) combined for 13 total kills. Waddell also led Ohio at the net with three blocks. Meinhart and Kelly combined for 31 assists.

Ohio took the early 1-0 lead with a 25-19 win in the first set. It was close early on with Ohio only leading 13-12. However, a 6-1 scoring run helped the Bobcats pull away from the Bulldogs, 19-14. Ohio maintained its lead throughout the remainder of the set, defeating UNC Asheville 25-19.

The Bobcats' momentum continued in the second, claiming an early 9-4 lead over the Bulldogs. Halfway through the set, Ohio led UNC Asheville 15-10. The combined offensive efforts of Kildow, Waddell and Kelly put the Bobcats up 23-18. UNC Asheville cut Ohio's lead to 23-20 but that didn't stop the Bobcats. Kildow put Ohio at set point, followed by a UNC Asheville attack error. With those two points, the Bobcats took set two, 25-20, and extended their lead to 2-0.

With the victory in sight, Ohio's offense took off at the start of the third set. The Bobcats lead the Bulldogs, 10-3. UNC Asheville had cut Ohio's lead to five points, 15-10, halfway through the set. That didn't stop the Bobcats as they continued on to claim a 25-20 set three win over the Bulldogs. With that victory, Ohio completed its sweep of UNC Asheville.

The Bobcats will conclude the Bobcat Invitational against Mercyhurst on Saturday, Sept. 19 in the Convocation Center. First serve is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game will be available to watch on ESPN+.

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