Ohio knew it would have to be nearly perfect to come out with a win in Lexington and it was far from it, Ohio was swept in two consecutive games against Marquette (2-0) and Kentucky (1-1) to start the year off losing 2-0.
Match 1
In their first game of the season, the Bobcats looked a bit rusty in the early going, and the Golden Eagles were able to pounce. The Bobcats quickly found themselves down 7-1 in the first set, and they trimmed the deficit to three, but could never threaten the Golden Eagles' lead, and fell in set one 25-17.
In set two Ohio got off to a much cleaner start and the set was tied 9-9 after the first 18 points. But Ohio was only able to compete for so long, and Marquette quickly put Ohio away, winning set two 25-16.
Set three was the Bobcats' worst set of the night, as the Golden Eagles quickly opened up a 14-7 lead, the Bobcats never were able to cut into it and the Golden Eagles swept the Bobcats with a 25-15 set three win.
Caitlin O'Farrell led the way for the Bobcats in match one with eight kills and a .412 hitting percentage. Parker Kwiatkowski and Sam Steele reached game highs for the Bobcats in digs with eight each. O'Farrell and Kwiatkowski also excelled defensively with two blocks each.
Match 2
Ohio's second match, against Kentucky, went just as poorly as its first. Ohio looked very competitive in the first set, and even took an 8-7 lead. As the lead went back and forth Ohio looked like it gained the upper hand by winning a long point after coach Geoff Carlston was able to overturn a call with a challenge. Kentucky quickly took back command, however, with three straight points on the way to a 25-20 first set win.
The Bobcats severely struggled in set two, falling behind 11-3 early, and it only got worse from there. The Wildcats eventually won set two by a score of 25-11.
Ohio was much more competitive in set three, and was in a nail-biter after an O'Farrell kill cut the Kentucky lead to 11-9. Kentucky scored six unanswered points to open up the lead back up and the Bobcats were left to play catch up for the rest of the set. They cut the deficit to four, but the Wildcats won set three 25-20 and swept the match.
O'Farrell once again led the way with eight kills, and Steele had another great defensive game with 16 digs.
The Bobcats didn't play well enough to come away with a win in Lexington, but will have a chance to pick up their first win of the season when they take on UMKC in the Tulane Invitational next weekend.
