In need of a crucial win, Ohio (13-13, 9-6 Mid-American Conference) came into its second-to-last game at The Convo this season and capitalized on the opportunity, winning 3-1 against Buffalo (14-14, 10-5 MAC).
The win, along with Toledo’s loss to Ball State, puts Ohio as the sole owner of the sixth spot in the conference – the last seed in the MAC Tournament. Despite having three more games before the postseason officially starts, Ohio has already built the necessary mentality.
“We have to look at this like it’s the MAC Tournament or the NCAA Tournament, and that’s the mentality we have,” Ohio coach Geoff Carlston said. “This is a dry run for two weeks from now when you have to win to move on.”
Ohio came out in the first, perfectly exemplifying that mentality. The Bobcats quickly took a 10-1 lead, the only Bulls point coming from an attacking error from sophomore Kam Hunt, the result of Ohio’s engine running aggressively high.
Junior Anna Kharchynska was the catalyst for the early dominance. In the early run, Kharchynska recorded three kills and two blocks, combined with graduate student Elizabeth Hoerlein. Ohio would go on to win the set 25-10 in one of the most dominant performances of the season.
“I think this whole week we’ve really worked on upping our mindset,” freshman Bryn Janke said. “Just thinking that we’re the best instead of always being like, ‘We have to beat this team,’ and I think that’s really helped us.”
In the second set, Ohio continued its dominance. It was a closer set overall but with Hunt and senior Makenna Schafer starting to catch fire, Ohio surged to a 14-8 lead. Buffalo, which entered the match No. 4 in the MAC, didn’t lie down flat. The Bulls played their best volleyball staring down a 24-21 deficit and then going on a 5-0 run to take the set.
“Buffalo has to win tomorrow, too,” Carlston said. “They could be knocked out of the tournament. Probably not, but it’s that close. There’s six or seven teams that are in the cauldron right now.”
The third set would maintain the competitive style of volleyball that the second had established. Neither team would establish a lead of more than two points the whole way. Ohio pulled out the set 26-24 to take a 2-1 lead.
“I’m happy with how we’re playing, we played a really good third set,” Carlston said. “Third sets are almost always the big ones … It was not a pretty third set, but it was a grinder.”
The fourth set saw the tone shift back to what it had seen in the first. Ohio rallied to a 12-5 lead behind excellent serving and defense. The Bulls wouldn’t let them pull away any further than that, but the Bobcats never let their opponent see a lead in what would be the final set of the match.
With the win, the Bobcats are one step closer to returning to the MAC Tournament. A win would give the team a shot at another banner to hang up in The Convo, and Ohio plays against Buffalo again tomorrow at 3 p.m.
“It’s been a long time,” Carlston said. “It’s been almost 10 years since this team won the conference. One of the reasons I came back (to Ohio) was because I wanted to get that mentality back.”
