This Friday and Saturday Ohio (2-1) travels to High Point, North Carolina, to take on two teams in its first away matches of the season. Coming off the Bobcat Invitational with two wins over Xavier and Appalachian State, Ohio’s offense at the net looks strong, but serves and defense will be crucial to securing victory this weekend.
Players such as Anna Kharchynska and Kam Hunt are coming off great opening matches, scoring a total of 70 points in kills. Freshman Darbi Ricketts is also going into these matches after delivering 17 digs and 19 kills this past weekend across all three matches. The key for the Bobcats will be securing an early point gap and keeping both teams from forcing a close game.
Game Information:
Opponent(s): High Point, Mercer
Location: High Point, North Carolina (Millis Center)
Time(s): Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m.
Where to watch: ESPN+
Follow live stats here.
History:
While Ohio has yet to play a game against Mercer (3-0), the team is 1-1 with High Point (2-2). The most recent matchup was last August, where Ohio took 3 sets as opposed to High Point’s 1 in Harrisonburg, Virginia. In 2017, the Bobcats lost at home to the Panthers in 5 sets. Ohio looks to pull ahead this weekend against both teams.
Player to watch (High Point): Dylan Maberry
Leading High Point and the conference in kills last season as a senior, Maberry is a graduate student outside hitter. Standing at 6’1,” she has already racked up a total of 68 kills this season and last year averaged 4.12 kills per set. Ohio will look to put up a block to keep High Point from running away with points.
Player to watch (Mercer): Brooke Phillips
Phillips is one of Mercer’s registered setters and has already accumulated a sum of 103 assists for the current season after just 12 sets or 3 matches. Last season, she had the second most service aces on the team and this season leads the team with 17. Being such an asset to the team, keeping Mercer out of the system will be key for Ohio to secure the win.
