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No. 21 Ohio Cruises to 3-0 Win
Oct. 13, 2007
ATHENS, Ohio - The No. 21 Ohio volleyball team defeated Toledo 3-0 (30-20-30-23, 30-22) Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center for its fifth straight sweep and seventh in the last eight matches. Ohio outside hitter Ellen Herman (Toledo, Ohio) is still not fully recovered from a severe ankle sprain she suffered nearly a month ago, but the standout sophomore looked more like herself, a first-team All-MAC selection as a freshman, with a match-high 13 kills on a .357 hitting percentage to lead the Bobcats to the victory. Herman played well all match, but stepped up for the Bobcats in the third game to end any chances of a Toledo comeback. Herman hit .455 in the game, landing seven kills on 11 swings to boost Ohio to the 30-22 win and another sweep of a MAC opponent. Ohio improves to 15-4 overall and 7-1 in the Mid-American Conference, while Toledo remains winless in conference play at 0-8 and falls to 3-16 overall. The Bobcats once again held a significant hitting advantage, connecting on a .316 percentage compared to the Rockets' .150 mark. Ohio also held a substantial advantage up front, recording 15 blocks on the afternoon to Toledo's seven. Ohio's front line blocking was a collective effort, as sophomore middle blocker Meghan Simons (Lancaster, Ohio) had a match-high four blocks and junior middle blocker Amanda Andersen (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and sophomore middle blocker Jane Sytsma (Madison, Wis.) each had three. Ohio senior middle blocker Melissa Griffin (Whitehall, Mich.) joined Herman in double-digit kills with 10 and hit .409 for the match. Senior outside hitter Stephanie Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) had nine kills (.200) to go with eight digs and Andersen had 13 swings in the match and eight kills on a .385 hitting percentage in the win. Freshman setter Michelle Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kansas) collected a team-high 25 assists and eight digs for the Bobcats and fellow setter junior Jill DeArmond (Fort Wayne, Ind.) had 16 assists. In the first game, Ohio never trailed as eight different Bobcats registered kills en route to the 30-20 win. Ohio out-hit Toledo .286 to .098 in the game. The Bobcats hit .267 and landed 18 kills to win the second game 30-23. Andersen led Ohio with five kills on nine swings in the game, while Griffin and Herman each had four kills. Ohio travels to Western Michigan for its next match on Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. ---------------------------------------------------- |
