April 23, 2006

ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio volleyball team concluded its spring schedule with a seventh-place finish out of 24 teams at the Great Lakes College Spring Tourney.

The tournament featured eight pools of three teams each with the winner of each pool advancing to the gold medal round. Each match was a best two-out-of-three.

The Bobcats won their pool with defeats of Indiana and Marquette. After downing Indiana 2-0, Ohio rebounded from a first-game loss to Marquette to win 2-1 and advance to the gold medal round. The Bobcats won despite an injury to Stephanie Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio). Head coach Geoff Carlston said Whitney Maiden (Nelsonville, Ohio) stepped in and played a big role in Ohio advancing.

"Whitney stepped up against Marquette," Carlston said. "She showed some courage in how she played. She played very well and helped us get past Marquette."

Ohio dropped 2-0 decisions to Big Ten powerhouses Minnesota and Michigan State in the gold medal round. Both matches featured long second games with the Bobcats losing a 36-34 second game to the Gophers and a 35-33 second game to the Spartans. Ohio concluded the day with a 2-0 sweep of Cincinnati to finish seventh.

"We definitely got better and moved forward as a team," Carlston said about the team's improvement through the spring season. "We have a very good foundations for when the freshman show up in the fall. We'll be able to hit the ground running."