With the first weekend of Mid-American Conference play in the books, the Bobcats have yet to maintain the match-to-match consistency that coach Ryan Theis continues to emphasize.
Ohio (6-8, 1-1 MAC) split a pair of matches this weekend, as the Bobcats traveled Friday to Bowling Green before hitting the road again the next evening to play rival Miami.
Coming into its first match, Ohio had won seven consecutive meetings with the Falcons, but the streak came to an end in straight-sets. Bowling Green (6-7, 2-0) won the final two sets by a combined 15 points.
Ohio and Bowling Green played a close opening set, as the two teams were tied at 22 before the Falcons went on a run to clinch the set. The Bobcats responded in the second set, jumping out to a 7-4 lead, but Bowling Green came back and dominated the remainder of the match.
“I thought Bowling Green played extremely well,” Theis said. “All of their players were playing well and honestly, we didn’t have anyone playing well. If we had two or three players doing well we might have been able to win those close sets.”
The Bobcats then took the court at Miami and played a much more balanced match, winning 3-0.
Ohio swept Miami for the sixth consecutive meeting between the schools with the Bobcats dominating the stat sheet on both sides of the net.
Sophomore outside hitter Kelly Lamberti recorded 17 kills, including seven in both the second and third sets. Sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Bilger had eight kills of her own, while sophomore middle blocker Serena Warner and redshirt junior middle blocker Lexie Hartnett both added seven.
Defensively, freshman setter Abby Gilleland recorded a personal-best 19 digs, while also assisting her teammates 29 times. Freshman libero Meredith Ashy also contributed 18 digs in the victory.
The RedHawks were outscored by 24 points in the three-set match, after finishing the second set with only 11.
The Bobcats are one of eight MAC teams with a 1-1 record in conference play, as Bowling Green and Ball State are still undefeated.
Ohio will continue MAC play Thursday, when the team begins a four-match home stand against Kent State at The Convo.
“Hopefully the loss Friday was a wake-up call and Saturday is a confidence builder for us,” Theis said. “I think this season there is going to be a lot of parity in the conference and we have to work on everything to get better.”
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