Ohio (1-0) gave fans an exciting start to the year, shaking away any first-match jitters as it swept Xavier (0-1) 3 sets to none. Despite a close end to the last set, the Bobcats excelled on offense, with powerhouses like Kam Hunt and Anna Kharchynska dominating the net.
With seven Xavier players standing at 6 feet and above, Ohio needed to find ways around such a tall defense at the net. Kharchynska did that with back-to-back kills to force a Xavier timeout at 21-19 in the first set. Despite service errors on both ends of the court, the Bobcats closed the set at 25-20, only trailing when the score was 1-0.
A few small errors by Ohio gave Xavier an early second-set lead at 6-5. Immediately, the Bobcats answered to get some wind back. An attack error from Emma Grace led to Ohio taking back the lead, starting a run where Ohio would score 6 of the next 8 points. Hunt stood out in the front row in many of Ohio’s rallies, leading the match in kills for the Bobcats with 11.
“I'm looking to keep taking high, deep swings, and that'll leave our middles and right sides … more of a seam, and the court's going to be more open,” Hunt said. “The defense on the other side will try to shift around, so then that leaves space for my teammates.”
Xavier looked to close the gap at 20-14; through a series of net and hitting errors, Ohio would lose grip on its comfortable lead nearing the set point. Despite creeping up to the Bobcats at 24-23, the Musketeers would lose the second set, 25-23. After a shortened Xavier rally, Ohio’s determination and scrappy defense led to the second-set victory.
“They got a little nervous on the service line,” Ohio coach Geoff Carlston said. “A lot of kind of goofy errors, and I think probably nerve errors, but we made some really big plays and really big moments that allowed us to win three sets, really close sets.”
Carlston believes regardless of service errors, serving at the collegiate level requires a certain level of intensity which ultimately leaves room for error. Despite this, he said it’s high-risk, high-reward, and tonight the Bobcats won despite recording 12 service errors to the Musketeers’ nine.
Going into the third set, Xavier would hold its largest lead of the match at 3-6, forcing an Ohio timeout early on. The team continued to chase the Musketeers into double-digits, where a crucial dig from Darbi Ricketts and an overpass kill from Hunt would tie the set at 12. As the noise in The Convo continued to build, the set grew increasingly closer. Ohio and Xavier would tie eight more times during the set.
An intense kill from Kharchynska would put the Bobcats at match point. A multitude of fans would take to their feet for several rallies that would eventually end from two consecutive attack errors from Emma Grace, for Ohio to take its first victory of the season.
“We just got a great group,” said Carlston. “I mean, they're young, and they get along. And we have a great staff, my staff's awesome, and we have a really cool culture.”
Hunt encourages Ohio students to keep attending matches and supporting the the team to victory.
“It was so nice coming back in The Convo again, with an even bigger crowd than we had last year,” she said. “That was so awesome. I'm so happy everyone came out, and hopefully, we showed out enough for them to come back.”
