Despite entering Thursday with a four-game winning streak, the Bobcats fell to Kent State in a match against a team that brought new challenges to Ohio.
“I think Kent out-skilled us tonight, which is something that we aren’t accustomed to,” Coach Ryan Theis said. “Our skill and our ability to put ourselves in good situations has been what has made our season successful, and tonight we just didn’t execute that often.”
No. 18 Ohio (14-3, 4-1 MAC) dropped its first Mid-American Conference match, as Kent State was victorious in four sets.
The Bobcats then came back after dropping the first set by taking the second but could not continue their comeback after halftime. They held a late 22-17 lead in the fourth set, but then allowed eight consecutive points to finish the match.
“At this point we just need to compete better, we’ve made our living this year on five or six players playing pretty well (if one player has an off night),” Theis said. “That is a good formula for success, but tonight three, four or five players at one time were not playing well, and you just can’t overcome that when a team like Kent is playing really well.”
For Ohio, junior outside hitter Kelly Lamberti notched her fifth double-double in the past six matches, as she recorded 13 digs and 12 kills.
Graduate student middle blocker Alexis Pinson continued her presence, as she added a team-high 13 kills, four digs, three blocks, one ace and one assist.
Sophomore setter Abby Gilleland contributed a team-high 44 assists, eight kills and six digs, while sophomore middle blocker added 12 kills, including five during the first set.
The team will next travel to Ypsilanti, Mich., to take the court against Eastern Michigan on Saturday. The Eagles fell to Central Michigan on Thursday at home in a straight-set sweep.
Eastern Michigan (11-9, 1-4 MAC) began the season with victories in 10 of its first 15 matches, as it also leads the MAC in service aces (1.65 per set) and digs (16.14 per set), despite having lost four of their past five matches.
The Eagles are led defensively by sophomore libero Corynne Smith, who has notched 4.94 digs per set this season, which is tied for third in the MAC, individually.
“Eastern Michigan is really scrappy, so we’re going to have to play well to be able to beat them,” Lamberti said.
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