Ohio (14-13, 10-6 Mid-American Conference) set The Convo ablaze Saturday afternoon in its last home match of the season. Ohio swept Buffalo (14-15, 10-6 MAC) in a thrilling, offensively-strong match.
This match put opposite hitter Anna Kharchynska and outside hitter Kam Hunt both over 400 kills this season, a feat Ohio coach Geoff Carlston said is no surprise to him.
“They've been the backbone of our team offensively and leadership-wise,” Carlston said. “So it was so cool … Those two, I mean, they are the heart and soul of what we do offensively.”
Additionally, senior Makenna Schafer and graduate student Elizabeth Hoerlein have officially played their last home match as Bobcats, as they will both graduate in the spring.
Ohio began set one with an early but slim lead, a common theme for all three sets of Saturday’s match. Despite Buffalo’s high energy and line drive kills from Katrin Trebichavska, the Bulls’ fifth-year outside hitter, the Bobcats would hold onto the lead even after tying several times during the set.
Coach Carlston believes the team has come together to play efficiently since the beginning of the season, and tonight’s passing helped Ohio reach its highest tip percentage of any game this year.
“Really, really happy with how we came together late,” Carlston said. “We're playing well. We're playing hard. We have some more stuff on the road.”
Even with Carlston’s yellow card during set one, he continued to pump up his team nearing the neck-and-neck end, 25-23.
After tying nearly every point at the beginning of set two, Ohio’s offense turned it on. Kills from Hunt and Olivia Gardner gave the Bobcats a 4-point lead and forced Buffalo into a timeout.
This lead would only remain comfortable for a moment, as Buffalo looked to close the gap mid-game. However, a few scrappy rallies later, Ohio would hold the lead nearing the end of the set.
Kharchynska would end sets one and two on a right-side kill with no Bulls around to get it up. Ohio took set two with a little more room to breathe, 25-19.
A much better start for Ohio in set three resulted in an early 5-point lead. Buffalo capitalized on a few attack errors from the Bobcats, though, closing the gap to 11-9.
Many of Ohio’s players at the net showed up for a fantastic afternoon, including Hoerlein and Schafer. Hoerlein ended with six blocks and Scafer with five kills.
“Those two have been just bridges to the culture,” Carlston said. “They're kind of those quiet leaders, but, I mean, everyone loves them, they spent time growing in that role. We're not here if we don't have good leaders at the top. And they've been great.”
The match would tie one final time at 20 before Ohio surged with energy to put this match away. It became clear following a Bulls’ timeout which team would come out of this match the winner, and Ohio won set three 25-20 as all team members flooded the court for a group hug, celebrating their very last home game together.
“We had to do it,” Carlston said, smiling. “We had to win both of these and so now we still control our own destiny.”
