On Saturday evening in The Convo, the Bobcats will open their spring schedule with a classic in-state showdown against Ohio State.
With only two seniors on last year’s squad, Ohio will be bringing back the majority of its players to the court this season.
“We’re trying to become a little bit more educated as a volleyball team being as that we were so young in the fall,” Ohio coach Ryan Theis said.
During the offseason, the team has focused on learning new concepts and getting back into shape. With the break coming to a close, Theis said the players are excited to play their first match since the end of November.
At the end of last season, the Buckeyes were ranked 23rd in the AVCA coaches poll. Junior Mari Hole led the team with 534 kills and 371 digs. In front of the net, Ohio State leaned on middle blocker Mariah Booth who finished the season with a team-leading 1.05 block/set ratio.
Despite the Buckeyes’ crop of talented players, Theis said Bobcats are not concerned with matchup problems.
“Our major concern heading into the Ohio State match is us,” Theis said. “These (scrimmages) are opportunities for us to get better and look at our side of the net.”
Since the game is a scrimmage, Ohio did not spend any time preparing for its opponent. Instead, both teams will take part in a 45-minute practice session before the match to give each squad an idea of what they need to defend against.
Returning defensive leaders Lexie Hartnett and Faith Robins had 233 total blocks. Both players each registered 123 sets in 2011.
Offensively, Ohio relied heavily upon Kelly Lamberti and Chelsea Bilger. The freshmen led the team in kills as well as in kill/set ratio.
Despite the anticipation associated with the start of the spring season, Theis said he is sure not to lose sight of the team’s goal this exhibition. “Were trying to get everybody on the same page for these six weeks moving into the next year.”
mm938910@ohiou.edu
