Oct. 12, 2007

Box Score |  Ball State Photo Gallery 

ATHENS, Ohio - The No. 21 Ohio volleyball team posted its fourth straight sweep on Friday evening with a 3-0 (30-15, 30-17, 30-20) victory against Ball State, in front of a crowd of 2,131 at the Convocation Center. Ohio (14-4, 6-1 Mid-American Conference) out-hit Ball State (3-16, 2-5 MAC) .429 to .084 to cruise to the straight-game win.

Senior middle blocker Melissa Griffin (Whitehall, Mich.) led the Bobcat attack with a match-high 13 kills and a .591 hitting percentage. Griffin had no errors on 22 swings and added four blocks in the win.

Despite not yet playing at 100 percent, sophomore outside hitter Ellen Herman (Toledo, Ohio) collected eight kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Amanda Andersen (Lino Lakes, Minn.) had a solid match as well for Ohio with seven kills on 12 swings and no errors for a .583 hitting percentage. Ohio controlled the momentum from start to finish as Ball State held the lead for just two points and committed 25 attack errors.

Ohio, which committed just five attack errors for the match, hit .448 in game one while holding the Cardinals to a .036 hitting percentage. Griffin paced Ohio in the 30-15 opening game win, landing six kills on nine swings.

In the second game, the Bobcats scored the first five points and eight of the first ten. Ohio's lead never dropped below six points the remainder of the game as the Bobcats won pulling away, 30-17.

Ball State held a brief 6-5 lead in the third game, but Ohio scored five straight points to quickly regain the lead and the momentum. The Bobcats maintained the lead the rest of the way, increasing their advantage to as many as eight points. Ball State trimmed the deficit to 26-20 when Ohio tallied the final four points of the game to close out the match in three games.

Freshman Michelle Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kansas) and junior Jill DeArmond (Fort Wayne, Ind.) continued to share time at setter for Ohio, collecting 17 assists and 13 assists respectively.

Senior libero Janice Matacic (Liberty Township, Ohio) had a team-high seven digs in the victory.

Ohio next plays Toledo tomorrow (Oct. 13) at 3:30 p.m. in the Convocation Center.