Melissa Griffin doesn’t usually show her emotions on the court, but Friday night in The Convo, her expression elevated with each point.

She stomped her feet after kills, vented her frustration after missed blocks and admitted that she didn’t like how she felt after her first-ever loss to a Mid-American Conference opponent.

“It’s a horrible feeling,” Griffin said after Miami outplayed and defeated the Bobcats 3-1 (23-30, 31-29, 30-28, 30-27), handing No. 17 Ohio its first loss in a MAC match since Nov. 8, 2003.

“I’ll probably be pissed off for another 15 minutes and be done with it,” the senior middle blocker said. “If it takes a loss for us to correct mistakes and go on to do what we can (the rest of the MAC season), then I’m OK with it.”

Griffin’s teammates all had similar airs of temporary disappointment, but with a few parents’ advice to “start the streak over again,” it didn’t take the players long to go back to their usual post-match routine of joking with friends and family.
Because while Ohio fans staggered around dumbfounded by the loss, the Bobcats realized the most crucial point of the evening: it’s better to lose now than in the MAC Tournament.

After all, as Griffin pointed out, in September, the Bobcats “have time to make adjustments and this can be what helps us as the season goes on.”

Coach Geoff Carlston has said for three years that Ohio’s 64-match winning streak in the MAC was more a brilliant accident than anything else. While he wasn’t ever going to complain about the record and he knew his teams were good, he has remained steadfast in his opinion that going that long without a conference loss was surreal. Stuff like that just didn’t happen in college volleyball.

“It’s a weird pressure to have,” Carlston said, admitting that he was glad the streak was over, partially so he wouldn’t have to answer questions about it any longer.

What irked Carlston wasn’t that his team lost but how they lost. The Bobcats looked sloppy against Miami, as they played from behind in the final two games, breaking down each time they came within striking distance of a lead.

“We failed to compete in key moments,” Carlston said. “And you can’t have that.”

But by the time Ohio’s match against Bowling Green rolled around on Saturday, the Bobcats had addressed those problems. Gone were the miscues and lack of focus that plagued Ohio against Miami, and back was the team that not only expects itself to win, but won’t let its opponent think otherwise.

The Bobcats smothered Bowling Green in a clean 3-0 sweep (30-21, 30-18, 30-20), holding the Falcons to a measly .078 hitting percentage. Ohio committed just four service errors as opposed to the 14 they had against Miami and combined for 11 team blocks instead of six.

Maybe a loss was exactly what the Bobcats needed.

“Getting this loss as a senior it puts things in perspective, with how much success we’ve had here,” Griffin said. “Maybe, for some of the younger girls, this will be what motivates them to have a streak like that all over again.”