Ohio’s roster looks much different from previous years, with a major emphasis on youth, leading to many players taking on new, bigger roles than they’d have otherwise. Darbi Ricketts, a freshman outside hitter and defensive specialist from Cincinnati is one of those players.
At 5-foot-7, Ricketts is the only player on the Bobcats’ roster with her combination of positions and the smallest outside hitter on the team by about half a foot. She can fly above the net for kills, ranking fourth on the team in the category while also getting on the floor to prevent kills, ranking second on the team in digs. She even wears the libero jersey occasionally.
“(My playstyle) is something Geoff (Carlston) and Kam Hunt have been working with me at practice on,” Ricketts said. “I’m not as big as everybody else, so it's a lot harder for me to go over the top.”
Although adjusting to the size and athleticism of collegiate defenses has been a point of emphasis for Ricketts, providing pressure above the net isn’t something new for her. At Little Miami High School, where Ricketts spent two years as team captain, she tallied 840 career kills, just slightly over her digs total with 826.
Ricketts grew up in a volleyball family, so it didn’t take long for her to fall in love with the game.
“My sisters started playing first when they were in middle school, and my dad was the coach,” Ricketts said. “I was in third grade when I started coming to their practices … and from there it just took off.”
Ricketts’s passion, versatility and skill have made her an integral piece for the Bobcats just 15 games into her collegiate career. Ricketts, along with her mentor and Ohio’s leader in kills, Hunt, is one of just four players on the roster to have played all 61 sets this season.
Ricketts’s journey to get to Ohio was rather straightforward. Her high school is under two-and-a-half hours from campus, making her a fairly local target for Ohio’s coaches and recruiting staff to keep tabs on.
“The assistant coach reached out on Instagram, and they just said they wanted to chat, and they liked how I played,” Ricketts said. “I came for my visit, I absolutely loved it and I committed.”
Ricketts’s commitment was announced on the team’s social media pages Nov. 10, 2023, as one of four freshmen Ohio had brought into comprise the youngest team Ohio has boasted in years. 11 of the 16 players on the roster are underclassmen, with six of those underclassmen having played at least two-thirds of Ohio’s total sets.
Given the team’s youth, growth is an inherent part of the season, from individuals like Ricketts to the entire roster. However, excitement exudes from this team, and the heights it could achieve in time.
“We are super young, but super talented and we are super athletic,” Ricketts said. “We have very high ceilings and we’re just trying to find our nice, sweet groove.”
Through the ups and downs that come prepackaged with a first season of collegiate sports, Ricketts shines in more ways than one. Her unique style of play, vocal leadership and ability to soak in the advice from teammates and coaches have given Ohio a bright spot through a season that hasn’t gone to plan thus far.
Those intangible traits, along with the highlight plays that have given her the nickname Darbi “Danger” Ricketts, affectionately called out over the loudspeaker by the Ohio athletics staple and announcer, Lou Horvath.
“It was my first game here, we were playing Cincinnati, one of my better games,” Ricketts said. “And Lou is just like, ‘Danger Darbi,’ and it just stuck.”
Ohio coach Geoff Carlston has made it a point of emphasis to empower Ricketts and the younger members of the team to play through their mistakes, noting the intangible aspects of their personalities over the statistical output.
“He has just always told me my voice and how I play the game are the reason I’m on the court,” Ricketts said. “If I didn’t have that I don’t think I’d be here.”
