Coming off a match in which Ohio (11-13, 7-6 Mid-American Conference) suffered a reverse sweep to the MAC’s top team, Central Michigan (19-6, 10-3 MAC), Ohio needed to win to maintain its postseason chances. The Bobcats did just that despite some bumps, winning in five sets.
The first set looked to be trending away from Ohio. The Chippewas took a 12-7 lead halfway through the set, giving the Bobcats some ground to make up. Ohio tallied 8 of the next 9 points, capitalizing on attack errors from Central Michigan and big contributions from senior Makenna Schafer.
“We’re just playing like every game is our last and giving it our all,” Schafer said.
It was a night of career highs for the Bobcats, who finished set one with a final score of 25-21, maintaining its lead throughout the remainder of the set. Schafer had a career-high in kills with 18, many of which were set up by freshman Bryn Janke, who notched a career-best 51 assists. Schafer’s fellow senior, Elizabeth Hoerlein, was the third Bobcat with a career-high, tallying nine blocks.
“I’m really proud of our team,” Ohio coach Geoff Carlston said. “We kind of rolled the dice today, and we played lots of lineups we haven’t played before … We just felt like it was the right way to go.”
The choices Carlston and his staff made certainly helped in the second set where Ohio would take a 2-0 lead. The Chippewas’ only leads were held at 2-1 and 3-2, with the Bobcats maintaining the advantage for the remainder of the set. Schafer would get Ohio to match point on a signature line-drive swing and a Central Michigan attacking error would seal the set, 25-20.
The third set is where things started to change. The Chippewas came out with fire, going on multiple lengthy runs to get out to a 14-6 lead. Errors from Ohio would help cement the lead, as the team never truly made up the ground despite short bursts of scoring throughout the set. Central Michigan would take a 25-20 set of its own, putting Ohio up just 2-1.
The fourth set threatened the same ending as the night before as Central Michigan would tie the match 2-2. Despite the Bobcats playing it much closer, pushing the scoring past 25, the Chippewas would still come out with the tying set.
Carlston and his team came into the fifth and final set with post-season hopes on the line, as well as the hit to the pride that comes with back-to-back reverse sweeps. The fifth set was closely contested, and when Central Michigan took a 7-5 lead, Ohio not only flipped sides, but turned the tables.
“We’ve proven that no lead is safe … We can rally and we’re kind of streaky,” Carlston said. “If you can win more 3-point runs than your opponent, that’s one of the number one factors in winning.”
Out of the switch, Ohio would go on a 6-0 run to take an 11-7 lead with Kendall Hickey at the service line. The Chippewas would outscore Ohio the rest of the way, but it wouldn’t be enough as Ohio would take the set 15-11.
Ohio improves to 7-6 in MAC play, just behind seventh-placed Eastern Michigan without a tiebreaker. The Bobcat’s next game will be against Kent State on the road on Tuesday, with a chance to move up in next weekend’s series against Buffalo.
