Ohio earned its biggest statement win of the season Saturday night. Well, sort of.
Down 2-1 for the second consecutive weekend, Ohio rallied to (10-10, 6-2 MAC) beat Ball State (8-14, 4-4 MAC) in Muncie, Indiana.
Still, coach Deane Webb doesn’t think it’s a statement made by Ohio for the rest of the conference. It’s a statement made by his team, for his team.
“There's not ever a need to panic,” he said. “There's not ever a need to think about giving up. Keep fighting, keep battling and stay focused.”
The Bobcats were down 17-12 in the fourth set, but Ohio came back to take the set 32-30, with a set-clinching kill from Simone Miller.
Miller, a sophomore who appeared in eight sets prior to Saturday night, delivered a career-best performance against Ball State.
On Friday, Miller was a non-factor on both offense and defense with just one kill and no blocks. But on Saturday, the outside hitter turned middle blocker was dominant at the net.
“We expect her to be an adequate defender,” Webb said. “All she did tonight was go out and lead our team in blocks. When you're an outside hitter and behind Jaime and Mal, you're not going to get out there. She earned that opportunity and went out there today."
Continuing her recent hot streak, Mallory Sallis carried the team in the fifth set, notching seven kills in that set alone. She had 10 kills all together Saturday and a combined 48 over the weekend.
The Illinois native has been crucial to the Bobcats over the past few months, regularly recording both 20-plus kills and 20-plus digs.
As a 20-year head coach, Webb knows not to take the senior for granted.
“It's just not the kills, she's gone four matches in a row with 22 kills and up,” Webb said. “It's her all-around play. Just a tremendous all-around player. It's amazing to see where she is now compared to where she was a month ago."
