Oct. 1, 2008

Click here to listen as Voice of the Bobcats Russ Eisenstein previews the weekend with head coach Ryan Theis and junior outside hitter Ellen Herman. 

ATHENS, Ohio -

Winners of nine of its last 10 matches, and its first two outings in league play, the Ohio University volleyball team will visit Bowling Green and Miami this weekend on its first road trip of the 2008 Mid-American Conference campaign.

Ohio has won 10-consecutive meetings with BGSU, though the Falcons head into Friday night's contest with a 40-21 advantage in the all-time series. The Bobcats swept last season's tilt in Bowling Green behind 11 kills from outside hitter Ellen Herman (Toledo, Ohio) and a match-high five blocks by middle blocker Jane Sytsma (Madison, Wis.), both sophomores at the time.

On Sunday, Ohio will make its annual trip to Millett Hall, where it chalked up 19.0 total blocks last season en route to 3-1 victory. The Bobcats haven't lost in Oxford since 2001, a span of six matches, though Miami leads the all-time series by a 42-18 count heading into the matchup.

The Bobcats are off to a 2-0 start in MAC play for the sixth-straight year after posting home wins over Akron and Buffalo last weekend to kick off the conference slate. Herman was named MAC East Co-Player of the Week after turning in averages of 4.86 kills, 2.71 digs and 5.36 points per set on the weekend, earning her fourth double-double and third 20-kill match of the year in the process.

Ohio enters the weekend with a MAC-best average of 2.44 blocks per set, due in large part to the fact that four of the Bobcats' six starters are averaging better than 0.50 rejections per frame. Junior middle blocker Meghan Simons (Lancaster, Ohio) leads the squad at a clip of 0.96 per set, while Sytsma is averaging 0.87, sophomore outside hitter Sue Jacobi (Louisville, Ky.) checks in at 0.59 and Herman rounds out the group at 0.56 per stanza.

Friday's match at Bowling Green is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, while the Bobcats' meeting with Miami on Sunday is slated for 3 p.m. ET. Live stats for both matches will be available via www.ohiobobcats.com.