Nov. 3, 2006

Box Score

ATHENS, Ohio - The 22nd-ranked Ohio volleyball team returned to their winning ways with a 3-0 (30-14, 30-27, 30-17) win over Kent State on Friday night.

Ohio's winning streak extends to 14-straight matches and the Bobcats advance 21-3 on the season and 13-0 in the Mid-American Conference. Kent State drops 13-12 overall and 6-7 in the MAC.

Ellen Herman (Toledo, Ohio) registered a match-high 11 kills. Stephanie Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) recorded her 13th double-double of the season with 10 kills and 11 digs; she also served up four aces.

Melissa Griffin (Whitehall, Mich.) chipped in nine kills and four blocks. Jane Sytsma (Madison, Wis.) led the Bobcats with a season-high .667 hitting percentage with nine kills.

Michaele Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the defense with 17 digs and Molly Mangan (Claire, Ill.) had 14 digs and two ace serves. Savanah Parra (Temecula, Calif.) totaled 37 assists.

"I think it was kind of two different matches," said Head Coach Geoff Carlston. "In the second game we missed a lot of serves and made too many unforced errors. In games one and three I thought we played really well. We served aggressively. Overall I'm pretty happy with the match."

Ohio opened the frame with a 3-0 run and lead by as many as 16 to win the game, 30-14.

Kent State turned the tables by taking the momentum in the early moments of game two. Kent State was in the lead until Ohio forced ties at 19-19 and 20-20. A kill by Stephanie Blackburn gave the Bobcats their first lead at 21-20 and at 22-21 Ohio used a 8-6 run to win game two, 30-27.

Ohio earned the first two points in game three from kills by Sytsma and Griffin. Kent State scored off an error and a kill by Stephanie Blackburn gave Ohio a 3-1 advantage. The Bobcats maintained the lead only allowing Kent State to come as close as seven points. Ohio won game three, 30-17.

The Bobcats end their weekend road trip at Central Michigan on tomorrow. Match start time is 7 p.m.