Anne Botica had 12 of her match-high 19 kills in game one and added a career-high seven service aces as undefeated Ohio State downed Illinois State 15-9, 15-3, 11-15, 15-10 in the championship match of the Ohio State Invitational.
Botica just joined the starting lineup for the Buckeyes, 6-0, after playing well in the semi-final match against Toledo. Against the Birds, she nearly did no wrong.
Kendra Haselhorst had 15 kills to lead the Redbirds, 3-2, who were out-hit .319 to .212 for the match and 12 of the 56 Buckeye points came on service aces. Haselhorst led the tournament with 41 kills and was on the all-tournament team with Toledos Lindsey Kreitzmann, Kentuckys Megan Weiskircher, OSUs Botica, setter Katie Virtue and Dana Stearns, the tournament Most Valuable Player who had 15 kills and 15 digs against ISU.
Trailing 2-0 in the match and 11-3 in game three, Redbird coach Sharon Dingman inserted utility player B Corbin into the lineup as a left-side hitter and the Birds came alive.
Abby Lewis served an ace and another point, then Becky Weber took the service line trailing 11-5 and served out the final 10 points, including an ace and two tips. Lewis had 5 digs during Webers service run. Some spectacular defensive plays slowed the OSU offense to .171 hitting in game three
Redbird coach Sharon Dingman credited both for sparking the Birds.
We knew before the match we had to serve more aggressively than we have all year, but we served passively in the first two games, said Dingman. Becky changed that with her serves. With B, you know youre going to get energy. She has done everything weve asked of her all year. She and Abby Lewis both gave us energy and aggressiveness.
After ISUs run kept the match alive, the Buckeyes, the preseason No. 25 team in the nation, finished with a run of their own. In game four, Jonna Burchetts five-point service stand helped ISU build a 10-4 lead. The Bucks caught fire behind three straight kills by Erin Treadway started OSU on an 11-0 run to finish the match.
You have to give credit to Ohio State, said Dingman. They made adjustments and got back to running their middle. If you can run your middles like they did, you can win a lot of games.
Illinois State was good enough to match side-outs with the Buckeyes in game one, but struggled to score early. ISU served 11 times before scoring its first point in game one, trailing 6-0 before Erin Jones drilled a kill off the OSU block to put the Birds on the board.
Despite 8 kills in 12 attempts for Haselhorst and 6 kills for Jones, the Birds never caught up. They forced five serves for game point before Dana Stearns ended the 55-side-out opener with OSUs fifth service ace of the game.
OSU out-hit the Birds .650 to .087 in game two, with Botica serving the final four points.
Three service aces helped the Bucks earn a 6-0 lead to start game three, which grew to 11-3 before an Abby Lewis service ace started the Birds on a roll to victory.
Illinois State opens the Missouri Valley Conference season at 7 p.m. Friday at Bradley.
In the third-place match, Kentucky beat Toledo 15-11, 16-18, 15-12, 10-15, 18-16.
