Ohio might need a new set of Firestone tires after it cruised past Akron Friday night.
Zips’ head coach Ron Arenz said it would be difficult to even take a set from the Bobcats. Ohio (14-6, 6-0 Mid-American Conference) confirmed his suspicions by taking the match in straight sets, 25-22, 25-16, 25-20.
Ohio turned the match in its favor after being down 10-8 in the first set. From there, the Bobcats won the next five points and held off a late run by the Zips to close out the first set.
The teams kept the score close for a good portion of the second set, but the Bobcats secured a firm grasp on a lead they would not relinquish.
Ohio won the third set in similar fashion by taking control of the game and winning five of the match’s final six points.
“Great to get on the road for two weekends in a row and come away with two wins apiece,” head coach Ryan Theis said.
The Bobcats got production from the usual sources. Freshman Kelly Lamberti amassed 17 kills and 10 digs in the match. Senior middle blocker Katie Post hit .571 for the match.
Going into the match against Buffalo, the Bobcats had not dropped a set to a conference opponent. But Theis said the team would not know how good it was until it was pushed.
The Bulls stopped the streak of consecutive sets won in MAC matches at 26 by taking the first set 27-25.
Ohio responded to take the next three sets and win the match, but Buffalo did not make it easy.
“We did not come around until the third set,” Theis said. “It’s tough to play Buffalo at home, and it was good to put our heads down and win.”
The Bobcats used defense as fuel against a taller Bulls team in the second set. Ohio took advantage of 10 Buffalo miscues to take care of the third set.
Ohio closed the door on the Bulls by taking a huge lead in the set at 20-9 and would close out the match at 25-12 to give the Bobcats their most lopsided win of the season.
The weekend wins put the Bobcats in the driver’s seat in the conference, but Theis does not take too much stock in the rankings.
“It’s too early to think about that,” Theis said. “Once we get about 10 games in, we will look at seeding. It’s going to be a fun race.”
nr225008@ohiou.edu
