Bobcat volleyball schedule is crafted to postseason

“RPI is the key for us when we are setting our schedule and it impacts both who we choose to play and who would choose to play us,” states Ohio Bobcat head coach Geoff Carlston. “The MAC is a tough conference and, aside from the champion, a high RPI is a path to the NCAA postseason.”

That comment from Carlston is an insight to how he structures Bobcat volleyball season strategy in addition to the makeup and training of the team. RPI stands for Rating Percentage Index and measures a team’s performance not only by wins and losses, but the strength of the competition. “A team could have a good win record but if those wins were only against teams with a low rating, then the resulting RPI would not be impressive.”

Why all this technical definition talk about RPI?

Carlston feels his 2024 team has a good combination of experience and youth to face a challenging schedule with an eye to not only to be a force in the conference, but to get to the NCAA tournament. “This is a fun and exciting group and I look forward to the season.”

All-MAC first teamer Anna Kharchynska returns for her third year in the Green and White along with all-freshman team standout Kam Hunt. Senior Elizabeth Hoerlein developed into a force in the middle and shared time in that slot with junior Leah Rogers and now sophomore Emily Waddell.

Last season did not lack for attacking players from the pins. Senior Makenna Schafer and sophomore Torre Kildow created problems for opponents and will be expected to continue to be explosive along with talented transfer Olivia Gardner and freshman Sierra Evans.

Setting those attacks could be a committee that includes veterans Chariti McKeller and Leah Shumate, though freshmen Bryn Janke and Alexander High School grad Lexie Grissett might be in the mix depending on the bumps and bruises factors.

The back line in volleyball is the engine that runs the game from the initial touch, the defensive specialist and libero positions. Can you dig it? Well, that’s their job. Kendall Hickey and fellow frosh Caroline Curran brought a tough competitive mentality to the floor last season that stood out for first year players. An addition might be the power of newcomer Darbi Rickets, she of the blast furnace serves, but who also could crash on up to the front line.

“We are going to be tested early in the season hosting a tournament right out of the box with Wright State, Appalachian State, and Xavier August 30 and 31, all three tough opponents. It’s that RPI consideration. We had the seventh toughest non-conference schedule last season so good teams want to play us. Even if they lose, it helps their RPI so we had no trouble filling our schedule.”

The next two weekends the team heads first to the High Point tournament to face High Point and Mercer, then across country to Los Angeles at the SoCal Cup for tilts with USC, Utah State, and Loyola Marymount.

“After that we host our second tournament featuring Liberty, Oakland, and Eastern Kentucky. At that point, we’ll know where we stand, how the pieces fit together, and then the MAC grind begins,” Carlston commented. Conference schedule starts in October and lasts into November with the end of season tournament held at the regular season champion home site.

And things are a bit different in the MAC this year. First, there are no divisions, East and West. As volleyball is one of the conference’s feature sports, there is an emphasis in RPI considerations so the preseason top teams will be playing each other more often. Only six teams will make the MAC tournament rather than the traditional eight with the hope that more conference teams will get at-large bids to the NCAA’s.

Carlston’s assistants will be with him again this season. Kenzie Brinkman, Steve Jones, and Kevin Gwinn bring stability and continuity to the team structure.

Rather than the Green and White scrimmage, the team plans an interactive event on Saturday August 24 called Volleyfest that would include a team scrimmage, meet the team time, an instructional period, and other activities that are community oriented. In addition, the team will have an open exhibition scrimmage on Wednesday August 21 at 5PM with Cleveland State.

Season tickets are available with a new format. There are a limited amount of courtside seats at the $100 level, a reserved section at the $70 level, and the general admission price remains at $40. Be sure to show up because if history is any indicator, the Convo will be rocking with altitude and attitude.