The prospect of youth in sports can simultaneously create the most exciting and drab moments for a fanbase. This is because youth and inexperience go hand in hand, and with inexperience comes inconsistency. On the other side, however, is growth.
Last season, Ohio finished tied for first in the Mid-American Conference East Division while receiving huge contributions from a variety of now-graduates. Caitlin O’Farrell, Tria McLean and Sam Steele – the team’s leaders in kills, assists and digs, respectively – have all graduated, leaving Ohio with gaps to fill.
For the 2024 season, the Bobcat fandom has experienced the full range that exists in the spectrum between victory and defeat. Blowouts, sweeping victories and losses; competitive back-and-forth matches where sets were rarely won by more than two points, Ohio’s seen it all, and currently sits at 5-8.
The culprit: youth. With the losses of O’Farrell, McLean, Steele and others, Ohio’s roster looks far different from what it did in recent years. Of the 16 players on Ohio’s roster, there is only one graduate student, Elizabeth Hoerlein, and one senior, McKenna Schafer, with eleven members being underclassmen.
That group includes four freshmen, two who have been consistent starters when healthy, setter Bryn Janke and outside hitter/libero Darbi Ricketts. Additionally, Ohio’s leaders in kills, assists and digs, directly replacing the trio of grad students that departed, are two sophomores and a junior.
The attempt to maximize production out of the youth on the roster, while out of necessity, has played to the expectations inherently associated with youth. After a 2-1 start to the season in the Bobcat Invitational, Ohio showed its ability to win in close sets and utilize youthful energy and athleticism to prevail.
In its last nonconference stretch, the Green and White Invitational, the opposite was seen. Ohio went 1-2, losing all but one set in its final two matches, all but one of those six lost sets being by two points.
In those matches, against Oakland and Eastern Kentucky, Ohio suffered from a bevy of errors, putting premature and unforced end to runs or failing to execute with enough consistency to threaten its opponents.
There have been bright spots though. Ohio’s freshmen, who find themselves consistently in the lineup, have been hitting career highs in stat categories across the board. Sophomore Kam Hunt, the team’s leader in kills and on the court, has had an excellent season on the outside. Junior Anna Kharchynska has been just as dominant as she was last season, leading the team in points and blocks.
It is inherent with growth that there will be pains. Part of getting better is making, and learning from mistakes, but it is not a linear process. Those mistakes have to be made, and the fact that the younger members of Ohio’s roster are getting the chance to make them means that there’s more to look forward to in the two or three more years they are on the roster.
Losing is not fun, and for a program that has been so dominant in the past, it is not the expectation. Ohio realizes that and as the season progresses, there will only be more and more opportunities for growth. With only two games into MAC play this season is far from over.
