Ohio kicked off its season this weekend at the Oregon Classic, where the team walked out sitting in the No. 27 slot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
The Bobcats came in with high expectations and finished with a 3-0 record.
The squad played three teams in two days and didn’t lose a single set, with Ohio defeating Bryant on Friday before taking the court with Eastern Washington and then-No. 8 Oregon on Saturday.
The highlight of the weekend was Ohio’s upset against the Ducks during the Bobcats’ second match on Saturday.
The Bobcats win was their first against a ranked team since September 2008, when Ohio beat then-No. 14 Middle Tennessee State in The Convo.
This weekend’s win pushed the Bobcats to No. 27 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll with 82 votes.
“(The win) was really exciting; we came out ready and focused,” sophomore libero Meredith Ashy said. “Last night I could not stop smiling; it was a really special moment for us.”
The Bobcats came out strong in the first set, scoring five of the first six points, before eventually winning the match by scores of 25-21, 25-22 and 25-19.
“I think we wanted to really come out especially tough in the third game, because we struggled with that a lot last year,” sophomore setter Abby Gilleland said. “We just kept playing through balls; everyone was ready for every play.”
Ohio finished with a 21-10 record at the end of the season last year, but was 0-6 against teams that made their way into the polls at some point last year.
Even though there has not been much success against ranked teams in the recent past, Ohio came into the Oregon matchup with a lot of confidence.
“I know that they were (ranked) eighth, but we didn’t let that effect us because we knew that anybody could win,” freshman outside hitter Katie Horton said.
Graduate student middle blocker Alexis Pinson had a solid debut tournament with the Bobcats, including nine kills in the Oregon match.
“One of the reasons why (players) came to Ohio is because we schedule difficult,” coach Ryan Theis said. “The fact that we knocked one of these teams off, they’re excited to be a part of it. In their mind it validates them wanting to come here and play against tough competition.”
Gilleland received the Most Valuable Player award for the Oregon Classic, while junior outside hitter Kelly Lamberti also gained All-Tournament honors. Gilleland finished the weekend with 92 assists, 18 digs and 12 kills, while Lamberti recorded 13 kills and five digs.
“(Gilleland) is a tough competitor; she’s going to do everything in her power to push a team to victory, and that’s why we recruited her,” Theis said. “She’s really coming into her own from her freshman year to her sophomore year, and she’s a huge part of what we’re doing.”
Ohio will be back in action this weekend in the Ohio Invitational in The Convo, where the Bobcats will begin the weekend with a matchup against No. 24 North Carolina.
“They kind of already started (transitioning to next weekend) on the trip home,” Theis said. “We’re trying to realize that it was just a step, and we need to prepare for three awfully good teams coming into The Convo.”
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Quick Stats:
— Ohio won all nine sets it played this weekend, as it finished 3-0 in the Oregon Classic.
— Setter Abby Gilleland was named the Oregon Classic’s MVP.
— The Bobcats are now No. 27 in the AVCA Poll, after beating then-No. 8 Oregon.
