Oct. 21, 2006

Box Score

ATHENS, Ohio - The No. 21 Ohio (18-3, 10-0 MAC) volleyball team ended a four-match homestand with a 3-1 (30-25, 30-32, 30-18, 30-26) victory over conference foe Northern Illinois (15-7, 8-2 MAC) on Saturday.

Ohio is on an 11-match winning streak and is undefeated in the Mid-American Conference. Ohio extended its home winning streak to 42 matches and has 44 straight regular season wins over conference opponents.

Sisters Stephanie Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Michaele Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) each garnered 24 digs marking the first time since 2003 that two Ohio players have had 20+ digs in the same match. Along with 10 kills on the night, Stephanie recorded her 11th double-double of season.

Freshman Ellen Herman (Toledo, Ohio) noted a career-high 23 kills and three solo blocks. Junior Melissa Griffin (Whitehall, Mich.) added 20 kills on a team-best .447 hitting percentage. It is the first time this season that two Ohio players have had 20+ kills in a single match. Sophomore Amanda Andersen (Lino Lakes, Minn.) added 13 kills along with four digs.

Following the Blackburns on defense was senior Janice Matacic (Liberty Township, Ohio) with a career-high 17 digs. Senior setter Savanah Parra (Temecula, Calif.) posted her eighth double-double with 11 digs and 49 assists, she also served two aces. Sophomore Molly Mangan (Claire, Ill.) had 10 digs and two ace serves.

For Northern Illinois, Kate McCullagh had a team-high 17 kills and three ace serves. Meagan Schoenrock had 14 kills and a team-best .263 hitting percentage. Laura Baetzel chipped in 12 kills and Gina Guide led the defense with a match-high 29 digs.

Ohio opened the match with a 3-1 lead, sparked by a kill from Griffin. At 5-3 the Bobcats used a 9-0 serving run by Stephanie Blackburn to take their biggest lead of the game at 13-3. Ohio maintained the lead and won game one 30-25.

Northern Illinois quickly turned the tables on Ohio by taking the momentum in the early moments of the second game. The Huskies went on a 5-0 run to open the game starting with McCullagh and Schoenrock combining for two kills. Herman added a kill for Ohio at 6-1 but Northern Illinois used four consecutive kills; including three by Schoenrock, to pull ahead 10-2. Both teams traded points until the Bobcats used a 10-2 run at 7-14 to take the lead 17-16. The Huskies regained the lead at 18-17 and was ahead by as many as three points throughout the game. The Bobcats forced five more ties and retook the lead 29-28. There were two more ties at 29-29 and lastly at 30-30 with the Huskies in possession. Two back-to-back kills sealed the game two win for Northern Illinois, 32-30.

The Bobcats took the lead early in game three and never looked back. The Huskies came within one point at 17-16 but a 4-0 run extended the Bobcats' lead to five at 21-16 and the Bobcats won game three by 12 points, 30-18.

Game four started with Ohio taking an 8-2 lead. Northern Illinois came within one point at 13-12 but Ohio used an 8-2 run for a 21-14 lead. The Huskies went on a 3-0 spurt cutting the Bobcats' lead to four at 21-17. Ohio held Northern Illinois by three points throughout and won game four, 30-26.

Ohio will play their next four matches on the road beginning at Bowling Green on Oct. 27. The Bobcats then travel to Miami on Oct. 28, Kent State on Nov. 3 and Central Michigan on Nov. 4.