Sept. 5, 2008

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Junior outside hitter Ellen Herman recorded the fifth double-double of her career and led a trio of players with double-figure kill totals as the Ohio University volleyball team posted a 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-8) victory over Eastern Kentucky on Friday evening at the Pitt Classic.

Herman (Toledo, Ohio) finished with a season-high 16 kills and a career-high 14 digs to mark her first double-double since Sept. 9, 2007, and the Bobcats' first since Nov. 8 of the same year. With three kills in the first set, she surpassed former Ohio star Kristina Whitfield for 10th place on Ohio's career list, concluding the match with 962 for her career.

"Ellen is a workhorse with endless energy and enthusiasm," Ohio head coach Ryan Theis said. "Even when she got dug at times tonight, it was evident that she was learning how to create kills. This was an impressive performance, and she got better as a player tonight."

Herman was joined in double figures by sophomore outside hitter Sue Jacobi (Louisville, Ky.), who turned in 11 kills to earn her second double-digit performance of the day, and freshman opposite hitter Katie Post (Streamwood, Ill.), who blasted a career-high 10 kills on 20 swings to mark her first double-figure match as a collegian.

Sophomore setter Michelle Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kan.) set the Ohio offense to a .299 hitting percentage in the victory, dealing out a match-high 39 assists.

"For the most part, we had things clicking on offense tonight," Theis said. "Michelle did a great job of setting behind her, and we got things going in the middle. I though our middles were very efficient tonight, which helps our offense tremendously."

The Bobcats (2-3) out-served EKU to the tune of a 13-2 advantage in aces, getting a match-best four from freshman defensive specialist Nicole Staverman (Edgewood, Ky.) to lead a quintet of Ohio players with multiple aces on the evening. Herman and Jantsch added a pair each, as did junior libero Sarah Petrulis (Westlake, Ohio) and sophomore defensive specialist Meryl Bender (Yorktown, Ind.) to round out the group.

"We had a couple of great point runs that really helped us out tonight, and that was a result of great serving," Theis said. "Eastern Kentucky is a team that plays much better when the score is close, and we deflated them a little with those serving runs."

Ohio also held a advantages of 11.0-4.5 in the blocking department and 56-47 in digs en route to forcing Eastern Kentucky into an .058 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Meghan Simons (Lancaster, Ohio) led all players with seven total blocks to go along with her eight kills, while Jantsch had four and Sytsma and Jacobi chalked up three apiece. In addition to Herman's 14 digs, Staverman tallied a career-high 13, marking her first career double-figure effort, and Bender equaled her career best with seven on the evening.

Post collected three kills in the tightly-contested early stages of the first set, helping fuel a 5-0 Ohio run that gave the Green & White an 8-5 edge. After the Colonels battled back to within two, Herman sandwiched kills around a double block by Sytsma and Jacobi to send EKU into its first timeout with Ohio leading 14-7 and in the midst of another 5-0 jaunt. The Bobcats hit the 20-point mark with a seven-point lead thanks to a kill from Simons, and Jacobi's second kill of the set closed out a 25-16 Ohio win in the opener. Post led all players with five first-set kills, turning in a scorching .625 hitting percentage on eight swings, and Sytsma checked in with four as the Bobcats hit .424 as a unit in the first stanza. Herman and Staverman each collected five digs, and Jacobi and Sytsma chalked up a pair of blocks apiece to help limit Eastern Kentucky to a .000 hitting clip.

Staverman fired two aces and senior setter Jill DeArmond (Ft. Wayne, Ind.) added one of her own in the opening moments of the second set to propel Ohio to an early 5-2 advantage. EKU came battling back, using a 7-2 run to open up a 12-9 lead and force Ohio into its first timeout of the set. Sytsma and Jacobi ripped kills out of the break to narrow the gap to one, and the Bobcats fought back to tie the count at 17-17 on a double block by Sytsma and DeArmond. Down 22-20, Post and Herman rocketed consecutive kills to level the score, but EKU took three of the next four points to capture the game, 25-23. Herman led the way on offense with a half dozen kills in the set, while Staverman dug six balls to pace the defensive effort.

Engaged in a tense battle early in the third set, Jacobi put the Bobcats ahead by a 9-8 count with back-to-back kills, forcing EKU to burn its first timeout. Facing a 15-12 deficit, aces by Petrulis and Bender helped the Bobcats tie the score at 16-16 before an EKU error and a Herman kill prompted the Colonels to spend a timeout with Ohio leading, 18-16. Bender ripped another ace after the break to push the advantage to 19-16, but EKU produced a quick 3-0 run to tie the score yet again. Herman put Ohio up two after she killed a ball then stepped to the line and fired an ace, and consecutive Jacobi kills forced set point at 24-21. EKU recorded a kill to draw within two before Simons terminated a quick set in the middle to seal the game, 25-22, and put Ohio up 2-1 in the match. Jacobi's four kills in the frame were a team high, while Post followed up with three in a .281 team hitting performance. In addition to her two aces, Bender led all players with six digs in the stanza, while Herman posted three of her own to clinch her first double-double of the season.

The fourth set got off to a quick start as Simons and Post teamed up on a block and Petrulis fired her second ace of the match to spur Ohio to a 4-0 lead. Eastern Kentucky was forced to call a timeout after a Jacobi kill was followed by an EKU attack error to give the Green & White a 9-3 advantage, but the margin continued to increase after the break, as Jacobi notched three more kills and the Bobcats threw up two blocks to extend the lead to 14-3 and send the Colonels into their final timeout. The Bobcats continued to build the lead with kills from a variety of different sources before senior opposite hitter Amanda Andersen (Lino Lakes, Minn.) capped the match with an uncontested kill down the seam.

Friday's victory improved Ohio's record in the all-time series to 3-0, while also representing the program's 17th win over teams from the Ohio Valley Conference.

Ohio will look to get back to .500 tomorrow afternoon when it concludes the Pitt Classic against the host Panthers at 1:30 p.m. ET. Live stats will be available via www.ohiobobcats.com.