Volleyball Struggles Again

OC Tries To Regain Momentum Of Early Games

The 4-4 Oberlin Women's volleyball team were looking to get things back on track last Wednesday as they traveled to Ada, Ohio to take on Ohio Northern, who is ranked 15th in the nation.

The Lady Bears were ready for the Yeowomen, though, and quickly disposed them in three games; 15-1, 15-2, 15-7.

"Ohio Northern is a tough team," said Coach Leeza Ramsey, "We didn't play bad, they just never let up. When we made a slight mistake they were there for the point."

In the first game, the Lady Bears jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead, followed by 10 straight points, slamming the door shut on Oberlin in the first game 15-1.

A 2-1 start at the beginning of the second game looked promising for the Yeowomen. But again the Lady Bears refused to let up, rattling off the next 14 points and taking game two, 15-2.

"After the first two games we were looking to try something different in the third game," said Ramsey. "I asked Darci [Leonhart] where she wanted to go in and she sort of just shrugged her shoulders and said 'wherever'."

First-year Leonhart entered on the left side of the court, replacing junior Alana Kenmore, one of the team captains.

"Alana has been one of the leaders on the court for us this year. I wanted to see how the team responded to her not being out there. She understood and rooted for the team from the bench," said Ramsey.

In game three things were looking up for Oberlin. That is, until first-year Kristi Sisler came in for the Lady Bears. She broke a 7-7 deadlock by consecutively scoring the last eight points to end the match, 15-7.

To Oberlin fans, the big story is how well Leonhart played on the left side. "I put her in there not knowing exactly what to expect because it's not her normal position," said Ramsey.

Sophomore teammate Mariana Padias said, "Darci played extremely well on the left side. She had a ton of kills and digs." Ramsey went on to comment on how much more flexible Leonhart's versatility makes the team.

Ramsey also added that seniors Carrie Carter and Sara Breon have been versatile and willing to move for the betterment of the team.

Finding Leonhart's ability to play left side was a blessing in disguise for the Yeowomen as Kenmore went down with a sprained ankle on Tuesday and will be out for about a week.

"It's a good thing we tried Darci where we did. It will really help us in the upcoming game at Hiram," said Ramsey.

Oberlin opened league play on Wednesday night at Hiram. The two teams met up in pre-season action, so both teams had a good idea of what they were up against.

"Hiram is a program looking to turn around. They have a new coach this year and she had them playing smart and on their toes," commented Ramsey. Hiram, winless in the conference after joining last season, came into Wednesday's game looking to capture their first ever conference win.

From the get-go Hiram had one major advantage, homecourt fan support.

"[Hiram] did a great job of getting people to the gym for this game," stated Ramsey. "There were posters everywhere and the gym was nearly packed."

Hiram succeeded in attaining their first ever conference win by beating the Yeowomen in 4 games; 15-5, 15-9, 8-15, 15-9.

"We needed a confidence booster coming into tonight, but it just wasn't there," said Ramsey. She went on to compliment how well they worked on picking apart the defense and hitting the open spots.

Standing out for the Yeowomen were senior Sara Breon and junior Anna Ruth. "Breon put in a solid individual effort tonight. She was playing a new position and did pretty well," stated Ramsey. Ruth led the team with 12 kills.

The loss drops the Yeowomen to 4-6 on the season and 0-1 in the conference.

They head to Earlham this weekend to take on conference rivals Earlham and Kenyon in a three-way match.