For the final time before the Mid-American Conference Tournament, Ohio will hit the road this weekend and play a pair of opponents that are gearing up for revenge.
The Bobcats (20-4, 10-2 MAC) will take the court in Bowling Green Friday, before heading to Oxford to play the RedHawks Saturday. The matches will be the second time Ohio has faced these teams this season.
Ohio has just four matches remaining in conference play and the Bobcats need to win each contest to be named the MAC regular season champions for a second consecutive year.
“Going into the year I thought that 15-1 or 14-2 is probably what it would take to win the regular season,” coach •Ryan Theis said. “We have our two losses, so I think we probably have to win all of (the last four matches).”
Junior outside hitter Kelly Lamberti saw action during Saturday’s match last weekend, because she wasn’t back to full strength from her injury to compete Friday, but Theis said that she should be 100 percent for this weekend’s contests.
“(Lamberti) is going to play as much as she can while still performing well physically,” Theis said. “We’re hopeful that back-to-back nights, moving forward, should not be an issue.”
Bowling Green (12-12, 8-4 MAC) fell to Ohio in a straight-set sweep Oct. 5., when the Bobcats out-blocked the Falcons 13-6. Bowling Green trails Ohio in the MAC East standings by two matches, so a win could clinch the division for Ohio.
Outside hitter Paige Penrod paces the Bowling Green offense and is ninth in the MAC with 3.14 kills per set, while libero Ashley Dunn is sixth with 4.62 digs per set. During the teams’ first meeting this season, Penrod notched 11 kills, while Dunn registered 23 digs.
Miami (10-14, 2-10 MAC) has dropped each of its past five matches, but the RedHawks took a set against the Bobcats Oct. 4 during their 3-1 loss. In that match Miami was held to a .099 hitting percentage.
Jenny Engle, a RedHawk sophomore middle blocker, leads the MAC with a .371 hitting percentage and leads Miami with 2.67 kills per set.
When Ohio played on the road against Bowling Green last year, the Bobcats were swept, so Theis says the team will not take this year’s match for granted.
“Last year this was a tough weekend for us, we know it’s a tough environment to go to,” Abby Gilleland, a sophomore setter, said. “If both teams are playing at their high level then it’s going to be a hard fought battle.”
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