Ohio (7-10, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) continues to split its weekends in MAC play, having gone 1-1 against Western Michigan (7-10, 3-3 MAC) Thursday and Northern Illinois (3-12, 1-4 MAC) Friday.
Thursday started slow for the Bobcats as the Broncos took an early lead and did not spoil it by taking the first set 25-20.
The fans would see much of the same in set two, putting pressure on Ohio to find a rhythm, falling once again 25-17. Ohio would now need to win the next three sets to pull off a comeback in Kalamazoo, now being down 2-0 in the match.
Unfortunately, a tough and closely fought third set would go the way of Western Michigan. Ohio would fight hard to bring this one home and extend the match, but Western found their way to close it out in three sets, winning 25-23 and 3-0 overall.
The strong efforts of the Bobcats all night could not be overlooked, but they may have been overshadowed by the scoreboard. They could not find a way to put it all together Thursday night, but sophomore Kam Hunt was productive, tallying 20 kills. The Bobcats also saw strong performances from Bryn Janke with 17 assists, junior Chariti McKeller with 14 assists and freshman Darbi Ricketts with 15 digs.
After suffering a 3-0 loss Thursday night, Ohio looked to rebound against Northern Illinois. Northern Illinois came into the match coming off its first win in the conference the night prior against Kent State.
The Bobcats were able to consistently attack the middle in set one as graduate student Elizabeth Hoerlein had four kills in a back-and-forth first set. Both teams fought hard, with the Bobcats having six players find at least one kill in the set.
The first set was clinched on a dump by Chariti McKeller as Ohio won 25-22.
Northern Illinois had its hand on the dial as it took an 8-5 lead in set two. Ohio would look to rally behind its strong frontline and junior Anna Kharchynska, who had five kills and two service aces to power Ohio to an 18-17 lead.
The frontline also played a big role in keeping Northern Illinois off the scoreboard with seven blocks. The Bobcats showed grit and tenacity as they fought through to come back to win 27-25.
In set three, for the first time all night, Ohio would start to fall behind as they were being outhit by more than 20%, .292 for Northern and .062 for Ohio. This did not stop the fight of the Bobcats as, once again, Kharchynska led the way with seven kills and another ace, her third, to give them a 22-21 lead.
The third set would come from Hunt, who cleaned up the final point and powered it over the net, just short of the backline, giving Ohio the win 25-23. This would conclude the match with Ohio sweeping Northern Illinois and taking the seventh matchup in a row between the two schools.
Next weekend, Ohio (7-10, 3-3 MAC) has two matches at home on both Friday and Saturday. The team will look to come off this victory against Northern Illinois and bring a strong fight this weekend.
