For the second time in eight days, Ohio finished a match against Kent State with a straight-set sweep, as the Bobcats advanced to the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals.
Ohio (25-4) balanced its scoring around its outside hitters on Friday, as Kelly Lamberti and Katie Horton finished with 13 and 11 kills, respectively.
“We talked a lot about being able to turn our digs to kills,” graduate student middle blocker Alexis Pinson said. “If we weren’t getting a block, I was confident enough in our (outside hitters).”
Pinson was a dual-threat up the middle, as she recorded a match-high five blocks and nine kills, but the key to Ohio’s win was the play around her.
“Kent used a lot of energy trying to stop our middles and they did a good job with it,” coach Ryan Theis said. “The key with a balanced team is when (the opponent) takes something away we’re going to try something else. I thought we did that today.”
During the middle of the second set, Ohio was able to put together a 10-2 run, which propelled the Bobcats to a 25-23 set win and a 2-0 lead entering halftime.
After the break, Kent State scored the first three points, but the Bobcats responded with a 11-1 run. Kent State attempted a comeback late in the set, however, it was not enough, as Ohio coasted to a 25-19 victory to clinch the match.
Sophomore setter Abby Gilleland notched 37 assists and eight digs after being named the MAC player of the year on Thursday. Redshirt junior outside hitter Liis Kullerkann added six kills, while sophomore libero Meredith Ashy registered 11 digs.
Ohio will advance to the semi-finals on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The Bobcats will play Northern Illinois, who defeated Bowling Green in four sets Friday.
Northern Illinois (19-12) has claimed victories in seven of its last eight contests after Ohio defeated the Huskies 3-1 on Oct. 25 in DeKalb, Ill.
“We’ve played (Northern Illinois) before, so we need to remember what they did in that past and what was successful for us,” Pinson said.
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