ATHENS, Ohio — The Ohio volleyball team beat Kent State 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 26-24, 25-17) in a Mid-American Conference match at the Convocation Center on Tuesday night, according to Kent State Athletics.
The win snapped a difficult stretch for the Bobcats. Ohio entered the night 11-10 overall and 4-6 in the MAC and had lost six matches in a row, winning just one set over its previous five matches, according to Kent State Athletics’ preview of the matchup. The victory lifted Ohio to 12-10 and 5-6 in league play.
Kent State led by four points in the opening set before Ohio went on a 16-8 run to take control, Kent State Athletics reported. Avrey Rigney kept the Golden Flashes alive with a kill and then teamed with Vanessa Imoh for a block to get within 24-22, before Ohio recorded a kill to close out the set.
The Golden Flashes answered in the second set, opening with an 8-3 lead and holding an advantage of at least five points for most of the set, according to Kent State Athletics. Ohio then escaped the third set 26-24 — a set that featured 14 ties and five lead changes — and carried that momentum into the fourth, hitting .414 as a team while closing out the match, Kent State Athletics reported.
Rigney and Imoh led Kent State with 12 kills each, and Nadia Miller added 11, with Imoh and Miller both hitting above .300, according to Kent State Athletics. Christina Vigil returned to Kent State’s starting lineup and totaled a match-high 37 assists, and Catie Patterson led the Flashes’ defense with 11 digs, Kent State Athletics reported. Kent State fell to 10-12 overall and 4-7 in the MAC.
Ohio entered the match led on the season by opposite Bailey Blair at 2.94 kills per set and outside hitter Torre Kildow at 2.68 kills per set, with setter Rowan Kelly averaging 8.34 assists per set, according to Kent State Athletics’ scouting report before the match. Tuesday’s match was Ohio’s Pack the Convo Night at the Convocation Center, according to Ohio Athletics.
It was also another chapter in a one-sided recent series: Kent State has now dropped 17 of its last 18 meetings with Ohio, according to the series history in Kent State Athletics’ preview. Ohio closes the month at home against Western Michigan on Friday, Oct. 30, according to Ohio Athletics, while Kent State returns home to host Western Michigan on Saturday, according to Kent State Athletics.