BOX SCORE

QUOTES

TOLEDO, Ohio -- For 16 regular season Mid-American Conference matches, top-seeded Western Michigan proved it was the top team in the league, but for one day No. 2 seed Ohio was able to come out on top 25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 23-25 in the championship match of the MAC Tournament at the SeaGate Centre in Toledo.

Sophomore Kate Corbett and junior Jillian Mitchell were named to the All-MAC Tournament Team after their performances. Corbett had 10 kills, five blocks and hit .409 in the championship match, while Mitchell, the MAC Setter of the Year, had 45 assists and nine digs.

Junior Michelle Moore led WMU with 15 kills, while sophomore Jaime Gotham had 12 kills, three blocks and hit .333. MAC Defensive Player of the Year Caitlin Strimel and sophomore Allyson Doyle each had a team-high 18 digs and junior Katie Eberling added 17 digs.

The match was as close as one would expect between each division champion. The Broncos (25-5) hit .226 with 54 kills, 75 digs, five aces and eight blocks. The Bobcats (23-7) hit .229 with 64 kills, 85 digs, four service aces and six blocks.

Ellen Herman led Ohio with 20 kills and was named tournament MVP, while Sarah Petrulis had a match-high 25 digs to join Herman on the all-tournament team. 

The first set was close to start with 12 ties before the Broncos broke things open with Doyle at the service line. A Doyle kill gave her the serve and started a 7-0 run for the Broncos that forced Ohio to burn both timeouts and WMU led by six, 18-12. Corbett and Eberling each had kills off of Doyle serves that led to overpasses. The Bobcats scored the next three points, 18-15, but an Eberling kill stopped the run and started a 7-2 run to end the set, 25-17. The Broncos ended the set with a block by Gotham and Doyle on MAC Player of the Year Ellen Herman.

The Broncos hit .333 with 19 kills and four errors, while holding OU to .146 hitting with 12 kills and six errors. Doyle had four kills and seven digs, while Corbett and Moore each led all players with five kills in the set.

Ohio took the early lead in set two, 3-1, and eventually built the lead to four, 12-8. Western Michigan controlled the middle portion of the set with a 9-3 run to take its first lead, 17-15, after a kill by Gotham. WMU continued to hold the lead before back-to-back finishes by the Bobcats put them in front, 21-20. Two more kills from Ohio gave them a two-point edge, 23-21, and forced a timeout by WMU. A kill by Corbett and ball-handling error by Ohio evened the score, 23-23, and the Bobcats called time. WMU committed an error and then a controversial ace call by the line judge ended the set, 25-23, and evened the match, 1-1.

Ohio finished with 18 kills and eight errors in set two to hit .204, while WMU was held to .125 hitting with 10 kills, four by Gotham, and five errors.

The Bobcats grabbed momentum coming out of intermission with a 13-5 run to open the third set, in which WMU had to burn both timeouts. The Broncos couldn't cut deeply into the lead and Ohio retook an eight-point lead, 21-13, late. An Eberling kill gave her the serve and started a 6-0 run that cut the lead to two, 21-19. Ohio stopped the run with a kill and the two teams played sideout volleyball to give set three to Ohio, 25-22.

Ohio hit .300 with 18 kills and six errors, while WMU managed 14 kills and five errors to hit .225. Moore hit .417 with five kills to lead WMU, while Doyle and Gotham combined on a pair of kills.

The fourth set started even, but then Ohio used a  4-0 run to build a 9-5 advantage. The Broncos fought back with a kill from Gotham and attack error by OU to even the set, 10-10, but Ohio quickly went back up again by three, 13-10. The Bobcats went up five, 20-15, after a kill and the Broncos called timeout. That rallied the troops as back-to-back blocks followed by an ace made it 20-18. Ohio scored with a kill, but then WMU came back with four-straight behind three-straight Moore kills and a Strimel ace to take the lead, 22-21.

Strimel then served the ball out-of-bounds on the next point and OU scored with a kill to make it 23-22. Gotham answered with a kill to even the match, but Ohio came back with a kill and WMU hit the ball wide on championship point.

The Broncos are back in action next weekend with the Holiday Inn West Bronco Thanksgiving Challenge at University Arena on Friday and Saturday. Matches are at 5 and 7 p.m. on Friday and 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.