Nov. 18, 2007

Box Score

TOLEDO, Ohio - The No. 15 Ohio volleyball team fell to Miami, 28-30, 26-30, 27-30, Sunday afternoon in the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship match at the SeaGate Centre, ending Ohio's run at a fifth-consecutive tournament title and its 15-match winning streak.

The top-seeded Bobcats (25-5) never managed to get into a rhythm and Miami (19-8), the No.3 seed, took advantage. For the match, the Bobcats were held to a .213 hitting percentage, while Miami hit .341.

Senior co-captains Melissa Griffin (Whitehall, Mich.) and Stephanie Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the Bobcats attack and were each named to the MAC All-Tournament Team. Griffin finished with 12 kills (.290) and Blackburn totaled 11 kills (.269) and added 10 digs for her 15th double-double of the season. Ohio sophomore outside hitter Ellen Herman (Toledo, Ohio) totaled 10 kills on a .167 hitting percentage.

Miami's Alex Ratcliff led all players with 15 kills on a .448 hitting percentage.

Miami went up 15-7 and then 18-10 in the opening game, but a resurgent Ohio squad battled back. The Bobcats went on a 12-6 run to cut the RedHawks' lead to 24-22 and get back in the game. The two teams then exchanged points before a Blackburn kill and a Miami attack error tied the game at 25-25. The score was tied at 28-28 when an Ohio service error followed by a kill by Miami's Carli Reihman gave Miami the narrow victory and a 1-0 lead.

In the second game Ohio once again trailed early, falling behind 5-2. The Bobcats tied the score at 8-8, but Miami quickly regained the lead, scoring the next two points. Miami's lead grew to as many as four points on four occasions, the last being 26-22. Ohio then rallied, scoring three straight points to get within one at 26-25. The Bobcats would get no closer however, as Miami ended the game on a 4-1 run win 30-26 and take a 2-0 lead.

Ohio took a 2-0 lead in the third game, but Miami scored the next five points and eight of the next nine to take an 8-3 advantage. The Bobcats then began chipping away at the lead until finally taking back the lead at 19-18. Miami regained the lead at 22-21 and widened the margin to 26-23. A Miami service error, followed by a Blackburn kill, brought the Bobcats to within a point at 26-25. The two teams then exchanged points, as Griffin connected on two kills for the Bobcats, pushing the score to 28-27 in favor of Miami. The RedHawks then scored the next two points to win the game 30-28 and the tournament title.

Ohio freshman setter Michelle Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kansas) finished with 33 assists and seven digs and senior libero Janice Matacic (Liberty Township, Ohio) had a team-high 12 digs.

The Bobcats are next in action in their final home match of the regular season against No. 21 Louisville at the Convocation Center on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 5:30 p.m.

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Wes Liles is the volleyball contact in the Ohio media relations office. He can be reached via email at liles@ohio.edu.