It was an emotional battle in front of a large and spirited crowd on Friday night in Alumni Arena, but the women's volleyball team wasn't able to pull off the upset as they dropped three games to the Ohio University Bobcats (23-3, 13-0 MAC) in three games.
The Bulls (10-17, 4-9 MAC) lost by scores of 30-27, 30-17 and 30-24.
Ohio entered the match with an undefeated Mid-American Conference record and a ranking of 29th in the nation in Division I women's college volleyball.
"Considering they're the number one team in the MAC, I think we played really well," said senior outside hitter Lindsay Matikosh.
Playing in her final home match for UB, Matikosh helped keep the Bulls competitive, tallying 10 kills and 11 digs. Freshman Nikki Morzenti also had a strong showing, leading the Bulls with 14 kills and eight digs.
UB got off to a strong start, using the sizable crowd to their advantage. Game one featured a come from behind rally by UB to tie the score at 20-20 on a kill by Morzenti. Junior Molly Schrantz followed with another powerful kill, enabling UB to take a 21-20 lead. After exchanging points, another tie was established at 27, this time broken by the Bobcats, with Ohio ultimately taking the victory in game one by a score of 30-27.
"I thought we played great," said UB head coach Sally Kus. "The kids love to play at home. They played with a lot of heart."
Using the momentum gained in game one, Ohio easily took game two 30-17 and followed with a 30-24 victory in game three to win the match.
UB was without the services of senior middle hitter Alexis Bouie, who sprained her ankle in pre-game warm-ups.
"(Bouie's injury) hurt us a lot; we were thrown out of our game, but Lauren (Burd) played with a lot of heart," said Kus.
Sophomore Katie Weekley had a solid night for the Bulls, contributing seven kills and four blocks while Schrantz finished with six kills and five digs on the night.
The Bulls will finish their regular season with three road matches, the first at Kent State on Nov. 9 followed by a match at Marshall on Nov. 14 and a rematch with Ohio on Nov. 15.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
