Ryan Theis’ voice had a tone of frustration and disappointment in it.
A week after the Bobcats opened their conference schedule with two strong outings, Ohio couldn’t follow up with a solid performance on the road.
They lost in five sets to Bowling Green on Friday night, and were outplayed on both sides of the ball in a three-set sweep to Miami yesterday.
Outside hitter Ellen Herman again led the charge for Ohio on Friday. With 20 kills on the night, she was the pace setter for the Bobcats.
Her table setter, sophomore Michelle Jantsch, turned in 45 assists and picked up her second double-double of the year with 11 digs.
In their second five-set match of the season, the Bobcats played a similar match to the previous that went the distance. Like the match against Tulane, Ohio dropped the first set to the Falcons and traded sets two through four before dropping the final frame.
Ohio totaled a season-best 14 blocks against Bowling Green, with middle blocker Jane Sytsma recording nine to lead both teams.
“We played well in maybe four of the six phases of volleyball on Friday night,” Theis said. “The block was one of them. That allowed us to play a close one, and our blocking really kept us in it.”
Yesterday’s match in Millett Hall provided a completely different storyline.
The Bobcats (9-6, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) came out of the gate lacking energy, Theis said, and were outscored 50-32 in the first two sets.
Herman contributed nine kills to lead the team, and senior Amanda Andersen was her only help on the afternoon, adding eight kills while hitting .538.
The RedHawks only made seven errors as a team compared to 21 for the Bobcats, and it made for a long afternoon.
“We didn’t play well in any phase of the game for the first two sets,” Theis said.
Theis said that the Bobcats’ inability to convert points led to a drop in team energy, which is a constant when the team is playing well.
“Execution led to a lack of energy for us. It was a very disappointing performance.”
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