For the second consecutive weekend, Ohio will play two Mid-American Conference matches at The Convo as the Bobcats attempt to continue their three-match winning streak.
Ohio (8-8, 3-1 MAC) will host a pair of MAC East opponents, taking the court Friday and Saturday against Akron and Buffalo, respectively.
As one of the top offensive teams in the conference, Akron (9-7, 2-2 MAC) will be a test for Ohio. The Zips are at the top in the MAC in hitting percentage and rank among the top four in the conference in kills and blocks.
“(Akron) is a really good offensive team,” said Ohio coach Ryan Theis. “They have all kinds of stuff coming at us at a time, so we need to start aggressively. They’re going to score and get kills and we need to just come back.”
Akron, which has dropped three straight meetings to Ohio, split its two matches this past weekend, losing in straight sets to Bowling Green before defeating Miami in five.
While Akron is dominant offensively, Buffalo’s forte has been its defense at the net.
The Bulls (7-9, 1-3 MAC) rank second in the MAC in blocks per set with a 2.45 average, just behind the Bobcats. Leading the team in rejections is freshman middle blocker Akeila Lain, whose block average of 1.34 per set trails Ohio sophomore middle blocker Serena Warner’s 1.35, which leads the MAC.
Ohio has dominated Buffalo in the teams’ all-time series, posting a record of 27-2, with the lone wins by the Bulls coming in 1999 and 2010.
Each team that will enter The Convo this weekend will feature a current MAC East player of the week.
The Bobcats’ recipient this week was freshman Meredith Ashy, who was named co-defensive player of the week. She finished matches this past weekend with 20 and 21 digs in Ohio’s two wins, respectively.
“I need to just keep digging more balls,” Ashy said. “I dug 20 last Thursday and then 21 Saturday, so I want to keep moving up. It’s important to just keep competing at a high level.”
Buffalo junior libero Kelly Svoboda was the recipient of the MAC’s other defensive honor, marking the second time this season she has received the award. Svoboda leads the Bulls in digs per set with an average of 4.41, which is seventh in the MAC.
Akron redshirt senior middle blocker Tina Dimitrijevs was awarded the MAC East offensive player of the week for the second time this season as well. This past weekend, she recorded 39 kills in two matches.
The two upcoming matches will be the last chances for Ohio to defend its home court until the final weekend of the month, as the Bobcats will hit the road for their next four matches.
“We’re really focused on us and trying to get better and trying to be more efficient,” Theis said. “For the most part we have been really competitive, which I call fifth gear, but then we make some mistakes and we want to minimize those.”
