After finishing the regular season as Mid-American Conference champions, Ohio will begin its ninth NCAA Tournament run in program history Friday.
Ohio (27-5) will take the floor against Michigan State for a first round matchup in Lexington, Ky. and look to reach the second round for the third time in its most recent three appearances. The Bobcats have put together a 9-0 record in neutral site matches this season but are just 5-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
Ohio dropped its first match since Oct. 19 on Saturday against Virginia
Commonwealth, but coach Ryan Theis said the Bobcats are not going to let the loss affect their confidence and will instead use it as fuel for the tournament.
“I don’t think we executed well and their system kind of beat ours,” Theis said. “Although it’s a little concerning, this team plays pretty well in the big ones, and I think they’re going to show up on Friday.”
Theis is tied with Geoff Carlston for the most victories (144) in Ohio program history and would become the program’s outright winningest coach with a Friday win. Carlston was the Bobcats’ coach from 2003 to 2007. Theis is finishing his seventh season.
Michigan State (21-11) finished seventh in the Big Ten with a 10-10 conference mark after starting the season with an 11-1 record. The Spartans have defeated five ranked teams this season, including then-No. 1 Penn State on the road in September.
The Spartans’ offense is led by senior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski, who garnered all-Big Ten honors and ranks third in the Big Ten with 4.45 kills per set.
Their defense is paced by junior libero Kori Moster, who earned Big Ten defensive player of the year honors for the second consecutive season after leading the conference with 4.65 digs per set.
The Spartans feature four players who are at least 6-foot-4 and 11 who are 6-foot-1 or taller. Their tallest player is 6-foot-6. Ohio’s roster includes seven players who are at least 6-foot-1 but none who are taller than 6-foot-3.
The Bobcats will have to emphasize their strengths when going against the tall, physical Spartans, who have an RPI of 28, compared to Ohio’s No. 40 ranking.
“We’re a very fast-paced team,” said Ohio sophomore libero Meredith Ashy. “We’re going to focus on first touches, good passes and good sets. Something coach has been talking about is the serve-pass battle, and I think that could determine the game this weekend.”
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This article appeared in print under the headline "Ohio to begin ninth NCAA tournament run"
