Oct. 31, 2007
Miami/Bowling Green Game Notes (Nov. 3-4) 
ATHENS, Ohio- The No. 16 Ohio volleyball team hits the road this weekend for its final conference road trip of the season. Ohio (19-4, 11-1) begins the week at Miami (13-8, 10-2) on Saturday, where it will look to avenge a loss earlier this season, its only Mid-American Conference loss in the last four years. The Bobcats then travel to Bowling Green (18-8, 9-3) on Sunday to take on the Falcons.
This Week's Schedule
Ohio at Miami - Saturday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.
Ohio at Bowling Green - Sunday, Nov. 4 at 4 p.m.
Live stats for both matches can be viewed at ohiobobcats.com.
Scouting Miami
Miami enters the week with a record of 13-8 overall and a 10-3 mark in the MAC, tied for second in the East Division. Miami had won nine straight matches before losing at Bowling Green this past Wednesday. The Red Hawks are led by Head Coach Carolyn Condit, who is in her 24th season at the helm. Condit has compiled a 426-319 record at Miami. Junior outside hitter Emily Schroeder leads the Miami attack, averaging 3.34 kills per game on a .241 hitting percentage and 2.48 digs per game. The Red Hawks' roster includes four players that Ohio senior Stephanie Blackburn should be familiar with. Melissa Zenz, Catherine Wolfe, Jeanna Staun and Carli Reihman all played at powerhouse Ursuline Academy with Blackburn.
All-Time Series
Miami holds a 41-17 advantage over the Bobcats in the all-time series. In their first meeting this season, Miami defeated the Bobcats 3-1 (30-23, 29-31, 28-30, 27-30), ending Ohio's 64-match winning streak against MAC opponents that stretched over four seasons. The loss also ended Ohio's 47-match home winning streak, the second-longest active home winning streak in the nation at the time and the 13th-longest in Division I history. The Bobcats out-hit Miami .349 to .293, but at the net Miami totaled 21 blocks to Ohio's 11. Senior Stephanie Blackburn led Ohio with a match-high 23 kills (.410) and 14 digs and senior Melissa Griffin added 15 kills (.333) and five blocks. Miami used a total team effort to earn the victory, as four players recorded double-digit kills in the victory.
Scouting Bowling Green
Bowling Green enters this week's action with an overall record of 18-8 and a conference record of 9-3. The Falcons are led by Head Coach Denise Van De Walle. Van De Walle has compiled a record of 459-311 with the Falcons. Corey Domek leads the Falcon attack, averaging 3.54 kills per game on a .261 hitting percentage. Stephanie Swiger is another key player for Bowling Green. Swiger begins the week with a .393 hitting percentage and is averaging 3.12 kills per game.
All-Time Series
Ohio is 20-40 all-time against Bowling Green. Earlier this season Ohio swept Bowling Green (30-21, 30-18, 30-20) at the Convocation Center in front of a crowd of 3,689, the largest crowd in Ohio's history. Senior Stephanie Blackburn led the Bobcats with 12 kills (.385) and 11 digs and senior Melissa Griffin had 11 kills and four total blocks. Ohio out-hit the Falcons .340 to .074 in the match.
WEEKLY NOTES
Milestone Watch
Senior middle blocker Melissa Griffin continued climbing the all-time kills list this past weekend, posting a combined 21 kills against Akron and Buffalo to move to within 12 kills of setting a new Ohio record. Griffin currently has 1,528 career kills. Below is a list of Ohio's all-time career kills leaders.
All-Time Kill Leaders
1. Lori Dyer (93-96)- 1,539
2. Melissa Griffin (04-)- 1,528
3. Amber Merill (97-00)- 1,497
4. Laura Hageman (00-03)- 1,460
5. Stephanie Blackburn (04-)- 1,380
6. Julia Winkfield (02-05)- 1,336
Looking For Payback
Prior to Ohio's match with Miami on Sept. 28, not a single player on the Bobcat roster had ever lost a match to a MAC opponent. Ohio Head Coach Geoff Carlston had only lost one conference match during his five years at Ohio (vs. Akron, Nov. 8, 2003) prior to the match and the Bobcats had won 47 straight at home. All of those streaks came to an end with the 3-1 loss to Miami. While the long-running streaks are over, Ohio's record remains incredibly impressive under Carlston. In his five years with Ohio the Bobcats are 86-2 against MAC opponents, including a 12-0 mark in the MAC Tournament. Through 12 MAC matches this year, Ohio has lost just four games, three of those coming in the Miami loss.
Rolling Again
Ohio quickly regrouped from the Miami loss and has been rolling ever since. The Bobcats have won nine consecutive matches and have swept all but one of those matches, winning 27 of the last 28 games. During the streak the Bobcats have out-killed their opponents 17.7 to 12.5 per game, led by senior Melissa Griffin's 4.7 kills per game and .458 hitting percentage over that span. Senior Stephanie Blackburn has also played well over that span, averaging 3.7 kills (.304) and 3.7 digs per game. Sophomore Jane Sytsma is heading Ohio's front-line defense during the streak, averaging 1.14 blocks per game to go with 2.2 kills per game.
Allow Me to Introduce Myself
Freshman Melissa Szkutnik became the fourth Bobcat this season to lead the team in kills, slamming a match-high 12 on 18 swings with no errors for a .667 hitting percentage against Buffalo. Her kill total and hitting percentage were both season-highs for the frosh.
Try and Hit This
For the season Ohio is hitting .274, compared to their opponents .171 percentage. In MAC play Ohio's attack has been even more efficient. The Bobcats enter the week hitting .344 in conference action and are holding conference foes to a .155 percentage. Through the first 12 conference matches, Ohio is leading the conference in hitting by almost .100 points, as Miami is second with a .254 hitting percentage.
I Can Match That
Nearly all season junior Jill DeArmond and freshman Michelle Jantsch have been splitting time at setter for the Bobcats. In Saturday's victory against Buffalo the two split time once again and their stats showed it. Both setters finished with the exact same stat lines, totaling 17 assists and nine digs each. For the season, DeArmond has 534 assists (7.7 per game) and Jantsch has 540 (9.3 per game).
Smoking Aces
Senior Stephanie Blackburn is at the top of numerous all-time statistical categories at Ohio, including career service aces. Blackburn combined for three aces over the weekend, raising her season total to a team-high 39 and her career total to 149, which is currently 4th on the all-time list at Ohio.
MAC Standings
Ohio's two wins, coupled with a Miami loss last week, moved the Bobcats back into sole possession of first place in the MAC East Division standings with a record of 11-1. Miami is now tied with Kent State at 10-2 for second in the division, followed by Bowling Green with a 9-3 mark. In the West Division, Western Michigan holds a two match lead in first place with a record of 9-3.
