This weekend, Ohio (5-8, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) went to Akron (5-9, 1-1 MAC), leaving with a win and a loss in its first weekend of MAC Tournament play. The Bobcats would fall to the Zips three sets to one Friday night but showed up Saturday for a win in five sets.
Anna Kharchynska played two outstanding matches, tallying up 43 kills. Bryne Janke also played exceptionally well, with 53 assists this weekend, finally getting a chance to shine after being unable to play for some time. The Bobcats fell behind in service aces; however, they excelled in both matches getting on the floor and recording digs.
Match one
The Zips’ Lauren Baker would begin set one with back-to-back services aces and a four-point run to give Akron the lead of 1-5. Recently, the Bobcats have struggled to find early points in their matches, putting the team in a hole to dig out of from the start.
From there, Akron would keep its distance from Ohio, sailing ahead, and at one point would lead by 7 points. Janke would step up to the service line to give hope for Ohio to catch up. However, Akron’s early lead won this set for it, 25-21.
Set two would start with a close Ohio lead, and a series of attacking errors from Akron would put the Bobcats ahead 8-4. Leah Shumate would serve for the Bobcats and close out their only set win this match, 25-18.
The third set began with several errors from Ohio, letting Akron zip into the lead early on once again. With Akron leading 5-10, Ohio had already made three service errors, costing it a closer game. Following mistakes, the team rallied together and went on an aggressive 6-point run, with three kills from Olivia Gardner and two from Kam Hunt.
Because of Ohio’s offensive drive, it would just barely taste the lead at 11-10, but Akron would answer quickly, pulling back ahead 12-15. It was a tough serving match for Hunt, as her errors at the line cost Ohio 4 points this match.
Another series of errors from Ohio and a surge of offensive energy from Akron would close out the set with a 27-25 win, despite the Bobcats’ efforts to keep the set close.
The fourth and last set would show a wave of exhaustion from Ohio. A combination of simple errors and the inability to dig up Akron’s kills would push it further away from the chance of saving the match.
A run from the Zips’ Sophie Twigg would put Akron ahead 11-5. Hunt would answer with two kills in a row, but nearly every attempt at scoring was met with another run from Akron. The Zips would put the match away 25-17 and sent Ohio ready to answer Saturday.
Match two
Ohio would turn it around Saturday for match two against Akron. Despite the Bobcats initially beginning with back-to-back aggressive plays, the Zips would begin to creep ahead and start the point gap of 8-5. Vanessa Del Real would serve Akron through a 5-point run to put it ahead 14-8.
Ohio took this as a wake-up call and proceeded to go on an 8-point run, soaring ahead to put the score at 23-19, marking a turning point for the Bobcats where they wouldn’t look back and took the set 25-21 in one of the best displays of Ohio offense this year.
Ohio’s point runs wouldn’t stop there either, and despite a close start to set two, the Bobcats would begin their chipping game after falling behind. A 5-point run with two kills from Hunt would put Ohio in the lead 11-9.
The Bobcats would proceed with yet another 5-point run to further distance themselves from the Zips, all 5 points coming from kills. Akron would attempt to close the point gap but would miss, and Ohio took set two 25-18 in another fantastic showcase of offense.
Set three would briefly turn the match in Akron’s favor, as it grasped onto several short, but essential point runs this set. The Zips began their lead at 7-4 and would continue to hold it until the end of the set at 25-20.
Set four would begin to worry Ohio about its grasp on the match and, despite pulling ahead early on, would falter tied at 14-14. In a game of mistakes, Ohio seemed to lose sight of how many it was making, as errors would result in 12 of Akron's points, including set point.
Two short point runs from the Zips would put them into the lead again, 22-17. The Bobcats looked to catch up but fell just short at 25-21.
Ohio would demolish Akron in set five, kicking the set off with its longest point run this season, scoring 9 points in a row to switch sides at 9-4. Offensive energy electrified Ohio and would keep Akron from entering double digits to take the match 15-6.
