In case you haven't heard, there is a huge event coming to The Convo this weekend. That's right; one of America's top performers will be here to dazzle a crowd that has been waiting patiently for a return trip to Athens.
And I can tell you this, the volleyball team will not disappoint. Oh, you're silly - you thought I meant that concert with Michelle Branch and that dude (sorry, one pop song doesn't make his name worth remembering or looking up). Forget that. I'm talking about the Ohio volleyball team's games against Northern Illinois and Central Michigan on Friday and Sunday, respectively
Yes, friends, for the second time this season the best team at Ohio will return home. With an overall record of 12-3 and upset victories against national powerhouses like Arizona State and Missouri, the volleyball team has become the success story of an otherwise unsuccessful fall season.
What's the point, you ask? The point is this: go and see this team. While touring more than John Mayer this fall, the Bobcats have won respect, a national ranking and the adoration of this rather handsome writer, but they have not yet won the following of this campus.
Now I am not judging, but if the football team were undefeated in the conference and near the top 25 in the nation we would have a little Brian Knorr party in the middle of Court Street. But the football team is not on top of the conference and coach Geoff Carlston's team is.
Not only are they playing with the best in the nation, but they also have some of the best players in the nation. Laura Hageman (whom I have lovingly dubbed Queen Agamemnon) was just named national Division-1 player of the week. That's national - as in, out of the whole nation. But she is far from a one-woman team. Setter Briana Adamovsky has more assists than John Stockton and she seems to set a new personal best every game.
I've got you interested now, don't I? After all, it is easy to root for a good team (head nods from all the Yankee fans). But I shouldn't have to sell you on this team. Plain and simple, they are the best show you will see in Athens, and they want you there - for free!
Carlston, in his first year at Ohio, has this team set to win their first conference championship and yet he still has to be his own public relations man. Every time he's asked what he wants when the team comes home, he says fans and wins. He talks again and again about this little community embracing this big team. And it is time that we do.
I know it's a busy weekend, full of important decisions (really, which is the better deal: 30 Keystones for $11, or 24 Natural Lights for $9.99?), but make a trip to see this team. I know volleyball is not always a huge fan favorite, but take it from a man who loves to see great competition - this team is worth your time.
-Cottrill is a junior English major. Send him an email at michael.cottrill@ohio.edu _
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Michael Cottrill
