After being named the preseason favorite to win the Mid-American Conference East, the Bobcats took the court for the first time during the weekend, but lost each of their three matches in the Dayton Flyer Classic.
Ohio (0-3) began its 2012 campaign against No. 11 Pepperdine Friday, making it the second consecutive season the Bobcats opened against a ranked opponent. But, like last year, the Bobcats dropped their first match.
Pepperdine (2-1) swept the Bobcats in straight sets to kick off the tournament with a 3-0 victory.
Ohio jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but that was its only lead of the day against a Pepperdine team that Ohio coach Ryan Theis said was in midseason form.
“Pepperdine did not make any mistakes against us,” Theis said. “They played almost flawless against us and better in their first match than in any other this weekend. I feel like we could have beat anyone we faced this weekend, but we didn’t.”
The Bobcats returned to the court Saturday afternoon against No. 7 Illinois, who fell to UCLA in last season’s national championship match.
The Fighting Illini won the match 3-1 after close battles with the Bobcats in each game.
Illinois won the first set by two points, but Ohio came back to win the next game 25-19. Although Ohio began the third set with a 6-4 lead, Illinois came back by winning five of the next six points to go ahead 9-7. The teams then traded points until Illinois broke a deadlock at 19 and clinched the game 25-22.
Although the Bobcats dropped their second match in as many days, Theis said many made positive impressions on the court.
Ohio’s Chelsea Bilger and Lexie Hartnett led the way — both recording double-digit kills.
Freshmen Abby Gilleland and Meredith Ashy also had prominent performances, leading the team in assists and digs in the match, respectively.
Despite both teams defeating the Bobcats, both Pepperdine and Illinois lost matches over the weekend and will most likely fall in the national rankings.
Dayton, the host, was the only team that went undefeated, sealing a perfect slate by beating Ohio 3-1 in the final match on Sunday.
Dayton won the first two games en route to a 3-1 win, but Ohio bounced back with a two-point victory in the third match. However, the Bobcats couldn’t keep their momentum in the remainder of the match, as Dayton overcame an early deficit in the fourth game to win 25-17.
“We have started out 0-3 before; it’s all about moving on and trying to bounce back,” Theis said. “We are excited to play in front of a home crowd. Hopefully the fans come out. And we need to just find a way to get better.”
Ohio will face two more ranked opponents, No. 13 Kentucky and No. 20 Oregon this weekend in the Baymont Invitational at The Convo, as it begins a two-week homestand.
cl027410@ohiou.edu
