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Volleyball Goes Distance with No. 23 Ohio State
Aug. 26, 2006
Houston vs. No. 23 Ohio State Box Score (PDF)
TOWSON, Md. - The University of Houston volleyball team jumped out to early 1-0 and 2-1 leads against No. 23 Ohio State but the Buckeyes charged back for a 3-2 victory (32-30, 18-30, 30-28, 15-30, 12-15) Saturday evening at the Towson Invitational. "We had our chances but when it boils down to it, there is no such thing as a moral victory," head coach Bill Walton said. "We played two good games but against the No. 23 team in the nation you have to play three good games and we didn't do that tonight." Kelly McAnelly and Justine Farmer notched double-doubles for the second consecutive match. McAnelly's 17 kills for the match equal her with Ashley Mulkey (1990-93) for No. 10 in program history giving the Houston native 1,139 career kills. Farmer continues her climb towards 500 career kills and digs with a 19-kill, 13-dig performance. Kelsey King passed out 55 assists and went over the 50-assist mark in back-to-back matches for the first time in her career. In the back row, Ashley Calhoun reeled in 13 digs in her second start at libero. The Buckeyes (2-0) were paced by a 30-kill effort from Danielle Meyer, including nine in the opening game. Marissa Main dished out 62 assists, while Kristen Dozier dominated the front row with 13 blocks.
After falling behind 2-1, Ohio State turned up the defensive pressure, forcing the Cougars into a negative hitting percentage en route to a 30-15 victory to force a deciding fifth game. At 4-4 in game five, the Buckeyes scored six of the next eight points to grab a 10-6 advantage. Houston trimmed the deficit down to 14-12 forcing an OSU attack error, but the Buckeyes regrouped blocking McAnelly to close out the match. "Our passing and setting was a little shaky in games two, four and five," Walton said. "We couldn't get any consistency the whole night. It's nothing a few hours of practice won't fix right up." The two teams came out strong in an opening game that featured 11 ties and four lead changes. Houston seemed to pull away at 28-24 after an Ohio State service error, but the Buckeyes (2-0) charged back to even the score at 28-28 with four unanswered points capped on consecutive kills from Meyer. After a pair of sideouts from Farmer, the Cougars took control of game one 31-30 with a solo block from Becca Sartori. Another Farmer kill closed out the game and gave Houston a 32-30 victory. Ohio State took control of game two early jumping out to an 18-9 advantage. The Buckeyes controlled the tempo on offense, connecting on .552 attack percentage with only two attack errors in the game, compiling a 30-18 win. Houston came out of the locker room determined, scoring six of the first eight points of game three. The Buckeyes responded to catch the Cougars and eventually took a 20-17 lead of their own. Walton's squad chipped away and caught Ohio State at 27-27. A Sartori kill game Houston a 29-28 lead and the Cougars forced a Meyer attack error to claim game three. The Cougars conclude the Towson Invitational tomorrow against Robert Morris. First serve against the Colonials is slated for 10am at the Towson Center. "We can't underestimate Robert Morris," Walton said. "We have to make sure that we're fired up and ready to go. If we put the pressure on them early, I like our chances of coming out of this tournament with a 2-1 record."
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