“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
That’s not just the beginning of a 19th-century novel, it’s verbatim how coach Deane Webb explained his team’s performance against Eastern Michigan.
The Bobcats overcame a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Eagles in five sets Saturday evening.
Ohio is now .500 for the first time in the 2016 season.
After winning the first set, Ohio was on their way to taking the second set, as they led 20-16. They eventually lost 25-23. It was deja vu in the third set as Ohio lost in nearly the same exact situation, surrendering their 20-16 lead to fall 25-22.
Mallory Salis opines that the team’s back-to-back set losses were a case of lost focus.
“I think we just lost ourselves and who we were,” she said. “You could tell EMU wanted it way more than we did. Our faces were down, we weren’t really into the game. The defensive intensity changed. It switched from our side to EMU.”
Ohio (9-9, 5-1 MAC) hit at or below 50 percent in the second and third sets they dropped, while EMU had their highest hitting percentages of the night in those sets.
Salis, however, was one of the key contributors in giving the Bobcats the victory Saturday.
After starting at libero for a number of games, the senior captain played outside hitter. She responded to the change by recording a double-double (22 kills, 19 digs).
Webb, who moved her earlier in the season to libero due to her offensive struggles, said she’s now playing at one of her highest levels in her career.
“Mal is the do-everything kid,” he said. “She’s now playing at the level we hoped she would play this year. She’s just such a great all-around player. When her hitting is good, she’s a next level player. She already has the defense. She already has the passing. She already has all of those things, but when she hits like that, she’s just a great player.”
The Bobcats claimed the fourth set 25-19, in part due to six kills each from outside hitters Salis and Jaime Kosiorek. Both of them had double-digit kills on the night, joining Ali Lake and Katie Nelson.
Ball distribution was an advantage for Ohio, but the momentum that carried over from their important fourth set victory was the last straw that downed Eastern Michigan (7-12, 2-4 MAC).
But the most important thing, Salis said, was the young team found themselves again.
“When you win that fourth set, you come back to the sideline in that time out, and you have that momentum,” she said. “Everyone’s really excited. You kind of level it out a bit, then you come back onto the court, but you still have that momentum. We took that with us, and it was to our advantage.”
